Our Journey Together

The first of many bold actions to be mounted by a group of fearless Greenpeace staff, volunteers, and crew from the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior at the US Embassy in the Philippines. This peaceful protest was to draw attention to the toxic wastes left behind by US troops at Clark Air Base in Pampanga when they vacated in 1991.

Thailand's government cancelled its 1400-megawatt coal-fired power plant projects in Ban Krut and a 700-megawatt project in Bo Nok following Greenpeace Southeast Asia's concerted efforts with community partners in Ban Krut (Bang Saphan District), Bo Nok (Ku.i Buri District), and Prachuap Khiri Khan province to stop coal operations in these areas.

In the Philippines, Greenpeace Southeast Asia supported local communities opposing coal projects in the town of Pulupandan. In the end, the provincial government announced Negros’ desire to be powered by 100% Renewable Energy.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia was a trailblazer in promoting renewable energy solutions in Thailand and the Philippines. In 2003, Greenpeace spearheaded several coalition efforts to create a stronger network of like-minded organisations and community groups working to promote renewable energy solutions.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia lobbied for the protection of whales, white sharks and the Irrawaddy dolphins at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Bangkok in 2004. A win for sea creatures big and small!

Greenpeace Southeast Asia engaged with big tech companies like Sony Ericsson and Apple for the launch of a consumers' “Green Guide” to Electronics in the region. Greenpeace also confronted multinational company Unilever over its links to deforestation and unsustainable palm oil in Indonesia.

In 2007, an action by Greenpeace Southeast Asia and allies took place in Bali during the largest coal industry gathering in Asia organised by G8 and Coal Trans. In Manila, we mounted an action at the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Manila Headquarters calling on the bank to stop funding coal-energy projects in the region. This prompted ADB to start a USD1billion clean energy fund.

In 2008, during the Rainbow Warrior’s visit to Thailand, Greenpeace Southeast Asia and community members created a message on the beaches of Thapsakae to protest against a 4000MW coal plant from being built.

The Renewable Energy Bill was finally signed into law in the Philippines as a result of consistent public pressure and policy lobbying by Greenpeace Southeast Asia. The law is intended to accelerate the development and utilisation of renewable energy sources in the country, such as wind and solar power, ensuring energy security and helping to combat the devastating impacts of climate change.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia’s supporters, volunteers joined farmers to plant organic rice in a bid to create the first ever ‘rice art’ in the fields of Ratchaburi Province in Thailand. The 1.6-hectare rice field showed images of farmers wearing straw hats and using sickles to harvest organic rice - Thailand’s most important produce - which was under threat fromthe entry of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the country.

After vigorous campaign by Greenpeace Southeast Asia and other Indonesian environmental NGOs, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pledged to protect the country’s most important ecosystems as he announced a moratorium to prohibit the conversion of natural forests and peatlands for palm oil, pulpwood and logging concessions. This measure was to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation.

In 2012, Greenpeace Southeast Asia’s Forest Campaign, exposed fast food giant KFC’s ties to Asia Pulp & Paper - one of the biggest paper producers linked to deforestation and the deaths of Sumatran Tigers and orangutans in Riau, Indonesia. After the launch of a global petition, KFC promised to address deforestation issues in its supply chains and to suspend its paper sourcing from APP.

In a landmark decision in 2012, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled in favour of Greenpeace Southeast Asia and other petitioners who launched a court case against the ongoing field trials of genetically modified (GM) Bt Eggplant. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Bt Eggplant violates the public’s constitutional rights against a healthy environment.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia launched a major report that found alarming levels of toxicity in some of these world’s most renowned garment brands. This followed tests on products sold by Adidas, Burberry, Disney, American Apparel, GAP and Nike. Under the Detox campaign, Greenpeace was able to forge an alliance of 18 fashion brands, including Mango and H&M, which promised to completely abandon the use of toxic chemicals in theirproducts by 2020.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia worked tirelessly with fisherfolk allies in the Philippines to help turn the tide against oceans destruction and illegal fishing activities in the country. In 2015, the Fisheries Code was amended (RA 10654) to have more mechanisms to combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing - a law that benefits the whole fisheries industry and includes provisions for fish workers.

The Philippine Supreme Court ruled in favour of Greenpeace Southeast Asia and ordered a permanent ban on field trials of the genetically modified (GM) Eggplant. The Courts issued a temporary halt on approvals for propagation, use and importation of GM crops. While in Thailand, Greenpeace and its wide network of farmers and consumers helped repeal the Biological Safety Law that would have allowed the propagation of GMOs in the country.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia,along with 14 civil society organisations based in the Philippines, filed a petition to the Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights (CHR) calling for an investigation into the responsibility of 47 of the biggest fossil fuel and cement companies (aka the Carbon Majors) for human rights violations due to climate impacts. This was the first ever climate petition to be filed before a human rights body.

In Indonesia, Greenpeace Southeast Asia launched and deployed the Forest Fire Prevention (FFP) team - composed of young volunteers and former victims of forest fires and haze, who bravely stepped up to help fight the fires and reduce the risk of haze in the peatlands of Riau.

300,000 Malaysians signed a Greenpeace Southeast Asia petition demanding corporate accountability from business giant Industrial Oxygen Inc (IOI) for its links to forest destruction in Indonesia and air pollution in the form of haze. A year later IOI, committed to addressing deforestation and exploitation throughout its supply chain. A great start for the new Malaysian office and its young staff and supporters!

Since 2009, Greenpeace Southeast Asia and Bentara Papua have been working alongside indigenous communities to analyse the forest landscape, and develop a plan for proper land usage. After struggling for nearly a decade, the Manggroholo and Sira communities in Sorong were awarded the first ‘village forest’ in Papua, with a total area of 3,545 hectares and a permit from the Government of Indonesia.

Thai Union Group Public Company Limited publicly committed to practicing sustainable fishing by eliminating illegal fishing activities in their supply chain and improving the lives of thousands of their workers on sea. This pledge was a result of active Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigning against the company’s harmful environmental practices which were also linked to human rights and labour abuses.

In the Philippines, Greenpeace Southeast Asia unveiled an art installation at a local beach that depicted a ‘dead whale’ seemingly choked by plastics. That image immediately went viral online and provoked public discourse on the devastating impacts of single-use plastic to the marine environment.

Since 2014, Greenpeace Southeast Asia together with the anti-coal network has worked alongside to protect the Andaman region from coal investment. In 2018, Loh Patani network and the independent energy researchers from Krabi and Thepha district were able to persuade the Energy Ministry, which led to the Thai Cabinet’s decision to halt and delay the Environmental and Health Impact Assessments (EHIA) of the power plant and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as proposed by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT).

Through a series of investigations by Greenpeace Southeast Asia, and aided by a global petition signed by 1.3 million people, we were able to move palm oil giant Wilmar International to launch a ground-breaking plan to map and monitor all of its suppliers and to stop buying from forest destroyers. Wilmar supplies palm oil to major consumer brands such as Colgate, Mondelez, Nestlé and Unilever which, in turn, have pledged to clean up their supply chains by 2020.

Four years after Greenpeace Southeast Asia began the groundwork for climate litigation, the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR) declared that the world's biggest fossil fuel companies can be held responsible for human rights violations and threats arising from climate impacts. This was the first time that a human rights body has affirmed that fossil fuel companies can be found legally and morally liable for harms linked to climate change.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia marks a historic milestone- 20 years of making a positive change and creating impact for the people and planet. Join us on this very important occasion!