Hi John,

Welcome back to your regular Greenpeace round-up, Stay Connected. In this edition, we explain why Greenpeace activists covered Rishi Sunak’s house in black fabric, update you on the Rainbow Warrior’s recent travels, tell the story of sports and greenwashing and much much more.

You truly make a difference. From actions to investigative reports to holding truth to power, your support makes this possible.

In this edition:

• Why Greenpeace activists covered Rishi Sunak’s house in black fabric
• Raw sewage in rare habitats
• Join Operation Climate Vote near you
• The Rainbow Warrior’s recent travels and impact
• Oil and rugby don’t mix
• What we’re reading, watching and listening to this month
• In memory of Jav Douglas

Why Greenpeace activists covered Rishi Sunak’s house in black fabric

Last month, four Greenpeace activists covered Rishi Sunak’s North Yorkshire mansion in 200 metres squared of oil-black fabric.

Why? They were protesting against major government plans for more North Sea oil and gas drilling, during a summer where devastating climate impacts were seen across the globe. 

Sunak’s government has pushed ahead with plans to hand out around 100 new oil and gas licences in the North Sea. These licences won't just be devastating for our climate, but they also won't improve our energy security or help people pay their bills. Only a commitment to renewables and energy efficiency can do this. 

Facts about the protest:

We planned it meticulously - Like all our actions, we take them extremely seriously and thoroughly plan them well in advance to ensure they are safe and peaceful for everyone. We knew the Prime Minister and his family would be on holiday in California, and we checked vigorously beforehand to make sure they weren’t there before starting. 

We trained for this - We carry out our actions with care, and Greenpeace activists are rigorously trained with our experienced logistics team. Nothing was damaged and nobody was hurt. 

The action gained extensive media attention, which is essential to get those in power to listen. And whilst lots of people got in touch to let us know how grateful they were that we were speaking out we know not everyone felt the same. We never make the decision to take action lightly but after delivering many of our other campaigning methods such as petitions, open letters, court cases to stop these oil licences being handed out, taking action on Big Oil companies, and still not seeing the progress we need, we took the decision to deliver the message - no new oil and gas - in a way that Sunak could not ignore.

Raw sewage in rare habitats

We already knew that water companies were polluting our rivers with sewage. But our new Unearthed Investigation has revealed just how many of these spills were in conservation areas that were supposed to be protected. That's right - not even our most ecologically important sites are protected from toxic sludge.

Greenpeace investigative journalists found that sewage was discharged into conservation sites across England and Wales for more than 300,000 hours last year. That’s the equivalent of 34 years of waste streaming into the water and poisoning local wildlife. 

Some of the most popular and well-known tourist destinations in the UK, from the south west coast to the Lake District to Wales' Brecon Beacons National Park, were among the protected nature sites that were most severely affected by sewage spills last year.

Join Operation Climate Vote near you

A general election is coming and it’s our best chance of winning significant climate action. So Greenpeace is launching Operation Climate Vote to mobilise the British public to put pressure on the government (whoever it may be) to take the climate crisis seriously. 

Street by street and town by town, we’re going to recruit a million climate voters and build a climate majority that is rooted in local communities. It all comes down to having important conversations with your local community, everybody from your neighbour to your co-worker, about the issues that concern you most and sharing the solutions that already exist. 

Join the launch Zoom call with guest speaker George Monbiot on 18 September, 6.30-7.45pm to find out how you can connect with your local community and bring people together to commit to prioritising the climate when they cast their votes. 

And if you can’t make the call on the 18th, not to worry! Throughout September and October, we will be hosting in-person canvassing training across the UK. You will gain the knowledge, self-assurance, and the tools you need to get started, plus you'll get to know some great individuals.

The Rainbow Warrior’s recent travels and impact

Pacific Islanders are among the strongest voices holding world leaders to account and calling for urgent action to mitigate climate change. Their legal battle to hold major polluters accountable and defend human rights has now won support on a global scale and will be considered in the world's highest court, the International Court of Justice.

It is our responsibility to amplify Pacific voices and to join them in the fight for a secure climate and future.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific and our ship, the Rainbow Warrior, have returned to the Pacific Islands travelling to Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Fiji to celebrate beautiful cultural traditions and document climate justice stories to submit to the International Court of Justice. 

The tour has been an opportunity to strengthen relationships and collaborate with local communities and amplify the visions of climate justice activists.

Oil and rugby don’t mix

TotalEnergies, one of the largest oil companies in the world, is sponsoring the Rugby World Cup. Fossil fuels sponsoring sports - it makes no sense right? Fossil fuel companies like Total want us to think they are doing good by sponsoring a major tournament watched by millions around the world.

But in reality, Total is fanning the flames of the climate crisis which threatens us all. Like other fossil fuel companies, Total is responsible for global emissions driving climate change whilst also making vast amounts of money. Last year, during the cost-of-living crisis, Total's profits doubled to over $36 billion. [1]

The truth is that the fossil fuel industry collectively produces a rugby stadium full of oil every 3 hours 37 minutes, which jeopardises a liveable future for us all. That’s almost 7 stadiums of oil every single day. [2]

Watch and share the video to stop their greenwashing and demand meaningful, proper action that protects people, and the planet. 

📖What we’re reading, watching and listening to this month

• Quiz: how well do you know ocean animals? - Challenge yourselves to play our oceans quiz and see how well you know the oceans and some of the majestic creatures that live there.
• Witness History - Ten years on, Frank retells the Arctic 30 saga: the story of 28 Greenpeace activists and 2 freelance journalists who spent two months in a Russian jail in 2013 after a Greenpeace action at sea. 
• What simple actions can people take to reduce their carbon footprints? - It's a tempting question, but it might not be the right one. Here's what we should ask instead.
• Don’t Stop - Watch our music video and listen to our star-studded cover of Fleetwood Mac’s iconic single Don’t Stop that is aiming to inspire a new generation of climate activists.

In memory of Jav Douglas

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of one of our face to face fundraisers: Jav Douglas, easily one of the most passionate and inspiring fundraisers we’ve ever worked with. A lifelong dedication to the environment and animals saw him making wildlife documentaries when he was not working for Greenpeace door to door, which he had been doing on and off since 2007. He inspired 1,247 long term supporters to join the organisation. In his last few months the importance of this was truly a comfort to him, knowing that he had made a real impact with the work he did with Greenpeace. 

Remember, we want to stay connected with you; whether you have a question about Greenpeace's work or your support, we're here to help. My team is available to call on 020 4525 3241 Monday – Friday, 9am – 5.30pm, or feel free to email any questions you may have to [email protected]

Together we are Greenpeace and we can and will achieve many more amazing things. 

Thanks for everything you do.

Carolyn Hoskin

Supporter Services

PS. We'll never stop holding power to account. If you won't either you could forward this to a friend, neighbour, colleague or family member and ask them to join Greenpeace and support world-changing peaceful action.

Notes

[1] TotalEnergies net profits double to record $36.2 bln in 2022

[2] Press release of TotalPollution

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