One of the most common things people have said to me this year when they find out I work at Greenpeace is that, “We’re an international non-profit organisation and the work we do doesn’t really help our local communities.”
For some international organisations, that distance can feel real, so I get where that question comes from. Which is why Greenpeace is so unique because although we’re global, we exist as independent national organisations. And here in Malaysia, our work is deeply rooted in our own circles – our neighbours, our communities, our friends, even our families. The people we fight for are not abstract. They are us.
In 2025, that truth felt clearer than ever.
Sometimes, our work hits so close to home.
Fighting for clean air isn’t just about policy papers or reports. It’s also about making sure our parents, grandparents, and children don’t have to make repeated trips to the hospital just because their basic right to breathe clean air isn’t protected.
Sometimes, it’s deeply tied to history.
Standing with the Temiar community of Kampung Kelaik as they fight for their ancestral land is about justice long denied – about protecting culture, identity, and a way of life that has existed long before modern borders were drawn.
And sometimes, it’s heartbreak that stops you mid-scroll through the local news.
Like the story of the mother elephant and her calf lost at the strike of a truck a day after Mother’s Day – a painful reminder of what’s at stake when development comes at the cost of nature, and why the policy work we do in forest protection matters so deeply.
What makes all of this possible and what gives me hope is knowing that we’re not alone. We’re surrounded by a growing local community of supporters and allies who believe in this work. Our donors. Our volunteers. People who choose, again and again, to show up. Your donations don’t disappear into something distant or abstract. They power on-the-ground work, community partnerships, legal action, research, and advocacy that create real change here in Malaysia.
We don’t accept any funding from governments, corporations or political parties. Our work is funded by ordinary people. That means we are free to confront governments and corporations responsible for the destruction of the natural world and push for real change.
So when people ask whether Greenpeace’s work is local enough, I think about 2025. I think about the air we breathe, the forests we defend, the communities we stand with, the clean energy solutions we fight for, and the plastic pollution we push back against – all for the futures we are trying to protect. And I know the answer.
This work is local. Because it’s about all of us.
Inside the Newsletter
Overview
- Our Victories in Malaysia
Stories
- Forests
- Plastic
- Clean Energy
2025 Impact
- Your Impact in 2025
- Our Global Climate Victories
- How Are We Using Our Funding?
- Meet the Team
- What Type of Activist Are You?
