| Under the Sun reveals the human cost of the climate crisis, as Global South youth expose its colonial roots and call for historical polluters to pay. |
Beirut, June 4 2026 : On World Environment Day, a powerful new documentary, Under the Sun, brings voices from the frontlines straight into the climate negotiations. The feature documentary-produced by Greenpeace MENA, Roots, and Brain Hug follows young community organisers from the Global South as they expose how fossil fuel companies’ profits are destroying lives. From Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Lebanon to Kenya, Uganda, the Philippines, Baluchistan, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, and beyond personal intimate stories, the film captures a growing global movement that is paving the way for climate justice and standing up to unjust systems, defending nature, and challenging the global political and corporate forces driving environmental collapse.
The film captures the protagonists as they share the intimate, life-changing impacts of climate impacts on their communities and what drew them to the mountains of Lebanon in the summer of 2023: the need for systemic change in light of an outdated economic system rooted in colonial exploitation.
“This film proves what governments won’t admit: young people and frontline communities are already leading the path to climate justice. They are protecting life with indigenous knowledge, solidarity, and collective action where corporations and politicians fail,” said Kenzie Azmi, Regional Campaigns Lead at Greenpeace MENA.
This leadership is already reshaping global decisions: last month, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to advance the International Court of Justice’s opinion that governments can be held legally accountable for their emissions – a resolution led by Pacific island states and years of youth campaigning.
The documentary dives into how the climate crisis is not only environmental, but it is personal and political, driving poverty, land dispossession, and gender inequality, amongst many other impacts.
“International oil companies continue to generate billions in yearly profits, deepening the climate crisis, while communities across the Global South bear the consequences. Meanwhile, wealthy industrialized nations are still stalling on delivering the critical financing needed for the Global South’s renewable energy transition, climate adaptation, and recovery from climate-driven losses. The time has come to compel historically polluting countries to unlock meaningful climate finance and ensure that they pay their climate debt,” Azmi emphasized.
Testimonies in the film show how women and girls are forced out of school or into early marriage, while indigenous communities see their lands stolen, their soils poisoned and their lives endangered.
Released around World Environment Day, Under the Sun underscores the unequal burden of the climate crisis and the urgent need for climate justice and environmental action worldwide. Youth on the frontlines are calling for urgent action — from phasing out fossil fuels and protecting biodiversity, to securing justice, accountability, and real support for those on the frontlines.
“Our homes are washed away, our farms are turning to dust, and our children are growing up in fear while oil giants cash in on our suffering,” said Yusuf Baluch, from Balochistan.
Greenpeace MENA calls on world leaders to end new fossil fuel drilling and expansion and hold international oil companies accountable by implementing taxes and fines to fund climate action. Under the Sun is now streaming globally for free on Youtube, with screenings taking place across Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
About the Film
Under the Sun is a feature documentary produced by Greenpeace Middle East & North Africa, Roots, and Brain Hug.
In the summer of 2023, a group of young climate advocates from over 100 countries gathered in the mountains of Lebanon, the largest youth climate gathering of its kind. United by urgency, they came to learn, organise, and fight for their collective survival.
The film sheds light on the devastating impacts of climate disasters: raging wildfires, deadly droughts, rising seas, while connecting them to colonial exploitation, corporate greed, and systemic injustice. It exposes experiences from Kenya, the Philippines, Brazil and beyond, showing how frontline and indigenous knowledge, women’s leadership, and solidarity across borders are central to the fight for justice.
Despite the harsh realities, Under the Sun is also a story of resilience and hope. From poetry to painting, young activists use art and storytelling as tools of resistance, proving that collective action can still shape a survivable future.
The film production was delayed due to the ongoing wars in the region, including the genocide in Gaza, as well as the invasion and escalation of atrocities in Lebanon, where part of the film is set. These realities inevitably shaped both the production process and the urgency of the film’s message. It reflects a broader understanding among youth in the Global South that Climate justice is deeply intertwined with occupation, inequality, and systematic injustice rooted in historical power structures.
Press Contacts
For media inquiries or interview requests, please contact:
- Greenpeace MENA: Hiam Mardini, Communications and Media Manager, [email protected].
