04 January 2008
- International — Like many of you around
the world, we also like to take time at
the beginning of the new year to look back
at the one just passed, to toast its high
points and to regret its lows, to take stock
and to look forward to the possibilities
and challenges that 2008 presents us…
Another year over, and
a new one just begun...
So, what kind of a year
was 2007?
It began with good news
and bad news. The bad news was new evidence
that polar bears are under threat due to
the meltdown of their sea-ice habitat as
a consequence of global warming. The good
news was that the US Fish and Wildlife Service
acknowledged their plight and proposed to
officially list them as a "threatened
species." With last summer seeing the
smallest amount of Arctic ice cover ever
recorded, a whole host of countries sought
to drill for oil and gas once protected
by the ice - and the more oil and gas we
burn the faster the Arctic melts, a vicious
circle bringing our planet closer and closer
to catastrophic climate change.
It wasn't a great year
for our seas and oceans in general, as overfishing,
pollution and climate change vied with each
other as to what would cause the most harm
to the marine environment and the life inhabiting
our oceans. The world once again failed
to stop the decimation of fisheries across
the globe, with tuna in particular taking
a battering.
Neither was it a good
year for our forests. Illegal and destructive
logging was still widespread - in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, part of the second largest
tropical forest in the world after the Amazon,
and in the Paradise Forests on the other
side of the planet, companies tore up pristine
forest and drained and burned peatlands
to make way for palm oil plantations.
It wasn't all doom and
gloom, though, and 2007 saw some great victories,
thanks to the work of Greenpeace activists
- both online and on the ground - some great
Greenpeace actions and as the result of
long but strong campaigning.
Life on the ocean waves…
Unlike many governments
we're not about to stand by while our oceans
are plundered. Eight of Europe's largest
and most influential seafood companies,
including McDonald's and Bird's Eye, agreed
with us. After four years of campaigning
to bring an end to deep-sea bottom trawling,
an international agreement was made, protecting
just under 25 percent of the high seas from
this incredibly destructive fishing method.
In a major victory for whale conservation,
a 34-7 vote for a resolution strengthening
the commercial whaling ban at the 2007 International
Whaling Commission Meeting was followed
by Iceland's announcement that they would
not issue any further commercial whale-hunting
quotas. Finally, just weeks ago, Japan caved
in under international pressure and confirmed
that they have abandoned plans to kill humpback
whales in the Southern Ocean - at least
for this season, anyway.
Little green apples
We love our Apples,
and our Green My Apple website won a webby
last year for its new brand of online activism.
Then, in May, we saw something we'd all
been wishing for when the words 'A Greener
Apple' appeared on the front page of the
Apple website. With a message from Steve
Jobs saying, "Today, we're changing
our policy," Apple pledged to remove
the most dangerous chemicals from its production
line. Our 'Guide to Greener Electronics',
published quarterly, continues to encourage
manufacturers of electronics - TVs, computers,
mobile phones, and now including televisions
and games consoles - to strive towards cleaner
and greener products, and we showed them
that this possibility was within their grasp.
Unrest in the forest,
trouble with the trees
Soya and other agricultural
products are key drivers for deforestation,
threatening huge loss of biodiversity and
contributing to climate change. The suspension
of soy multinational Cargill's port activities
in Santarem, Brazil, was the culmination
of years of demands by local communities
and people fighting the expansion of soya
cultivation in the Amazon. There was also
a victory for forests in Argentina; dressed
as jaguars, Greenpeace activists took to
the trees, camping in the treetops in a
bid to save them from the bulldozers - meanwhile,
we joined forces with other environmental
groups, got 1.5 million signatures of support
and pushed through Argentina's first federal
forest protection law, including a one-year
moratorium to avoid a rush of deforestation
while forest management regulations are
put into place. In December, Olam - a major
trading company - found its World Bank funding
cut, after we revealed its involvement in
illegal logging in the Congo Basin Forest.
Charge of the Light
Brigade
A decade after the Kyoto
Protocol was signed, climate scepticism
finally got beaten back in 2007 when the
International Panel on Climate Change issued
its sternest warnings yet. We even heard
France's new president, Nicolas Sarkozy,
call for an environmental "revolution",
declaring that every decision his government
makes from now on will be made in light
of its impact on the climate. Among other
measures, he promised to outlaw energy-wasting
lightbulbs by 2010. In December, the Irish
government announced that they'd be going
one step better, banning energy-wasting
incandescent lightbulbs by 2009. This simple
but historic step came as governments met
in Bali to discuss next steps on tackling
the global climate emergency.
Resolutions and [R]evolutions
Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola
has already announced a commitment to use
coolers and vending machines free of HFC
gases in all official venues of the 2008
Olympic Games, demonstrating climate-friendly
technology developed by Greenpeace.
That the Japanese government
has resolved that no humpback whales will
be hunted down and killed in the Southern
Ocean Whale Sanctuary in 2008 is good news
indeed - a victory for Greenpeace supporters
the world over. Pat yourselves on the back
all of you who joined with us in demanding
actions from our governments, participated
in promoting non-lethal alternatives to
whale research through our Great Whale Trail,
and questioned the Japanese Government directly
about plans to expand the whale hunt through
the building of a new whaling ship (not
to mention all of you who told your friends
to Vote for Mister Splashy Pants in our
whale-naming competition!).
While many are predicting
that the three R's - reduce, reuse and recycle
- will be joined by a fourth R for regulation
in 2008, Greenpeace believes that manufactures
need to add a fifth one - the R for responsibility;
responsibility in ensuring the proper recycling
of their products at the end of their lives,
and responsibility for phasing out the use
of hazardous materials right at the design
stage! More and more electronics companies
are already committing to eliminating hazardous
chemicals from their products, and in 2008
we've extended this challenge to Sony, Nintendo
and Microsoft, makers of the world's most
popular games consoles - check out the 'Clash
of the Consoles' to see how they perform!
Greenpeace launched
a landmark proposal for reducing, and ultimately
stopping, tropical deforestation while preserving
forest biodiversity and respecting indigenous
peoples' rights at the Bali Climate Conference.
The world has the resources to stop deforestation
- what is needed now is the political will.
Governors from Papua and Brazil's Amazonas
State have shown that will, and now world
governments must resolve to follow - no
money, no forests, no future!
Tackling climate change
remains the biggest challenge facing us
all. Fortunately, there is an answer to
this challenge - our report, 'Energy [R]evolution',
details how to halve global CO2 emissions
by 2050, using existing technology and still
providing affordable energy and economic
growth. In short, a revolution in energy
policy and an evolution in how we use energy.
Governments the world over need to resolve
to quit the use of fossil-fuels and fake
alternatives such as nuclear power and turn
to renewable and sustainable energy sources
to live up to the requirements of the Kyoto
Protocol.
And Greenpeace resolves
to continue acting to change attitudes and
behaviours, to protect and conserve the
environment and to promote peace; and we
couldn't do that without your invaluable
support. So, let's raise our glasses to
the New Year - with your help, we can make
it a good one!
