Best of Greenpeace action photos 2025

Actions and protests make up the soul of Greenpeace. Every time an activist is climbing an oil rig or holding up a banner, I hope this inspires people across the globe to also take their own action. 2025 was a highly active year, with actions taking place in various cities and seas worldwide, representing the core of Greenpeace's values.

Check out some of the best images from our action teams across the world in 2025.

Volunteers from Greenpeace Brazil unveiled a 12-meter banner with the message "Respect the Amazon" during Lady Gaga's pre-show in Copacabana on May 3.

On the third annual day of Russia starting the war against Ukraine, fifteen Greenpeace activists protest against environmentally damaging Russian oil exports using run-down tankers from the so-called shadow fleet on the Baltic Sea off Rostock. From inflatable boats, the Polish, Swedish, Danish, Ukrainian and German environmentalists painted 'RISK!' in large yellow letters on the tankers' side as the 'Prosperity' passed by.

A team from Greenpeace Italy and Greenpeace Germany projected the message "Hear my cry for help" onto the Presena glacier in the Italian Alps to denounce how climate change is contributing to its melting and the consequences of losing a vital water reserve.

Greenpeace activists free a blue shark caught on a longline in the Pacific Ocean. The blue shark is currently listed as "Near Threatened" globally by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Greenpeace Australia Pacific took action to stop an industrial longlining fishing operation in the South Pacific Ocean, seizing more than 20 kilometres of fishing gear and freeing nine sharks, including an endangered mako, near Australia and New Zealand.

Greenpeace climbers install a major new work by renowned artist Anish Kapoor titled BUTCHERED onto a Shell platform in the North Sea - the world's first artwork to be installed at an active offshore gas site. After securing a giant 12m x 8m canvas to one side of the structure, the activists hoisted a high-pressure hose on top of the canvas at a height of 16 metres above the sea. They then pumped 1,000 litres of blood-red liquid that gushed into the fabric, creating a vast crimson stain. The work is a stark visualisation of the wound inflicted on both humanity and the Earth by the fossil fuel industry, evocative of our collective grief and pain at what has been lost, but also a cry for reparation.

Greenpeace Indonesia holds a photo-op "Boots to boost justice" using fishers' boots in Muara Baru fishery port, North Jakarta.

As part of World Oceans Day, Greenpeace Mexico hosted a Festival of Monumental Kites featuring various figures of marine species at Holi Beach. A group of 17 giant kites with colourful shapes that evoke the life that inhabits this great aquatic territory were displayed in the sky with the message "Without oceans there is no future".

Activists from seven countries participate in an action with Greenpeace Italy against climate-wrecking fossil gas at the new liquefied gas import terminal in Ravenna. At sea, activists reached the infrastructure and attached large banners on it reading "Burn, baby, burn" referencing President Trump's mantra "Drill, baby, drill" alongside an image of a burning Earth flanked by the faces of US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Greenpeace Africa joined local and Indigenous communities for the Forest Cultural Show (Indigenous People's Day celebration) in Yaounde, Cameroon, to learn about their environmental protection efforts, share their cultures, and explore sustainable solutions for the future. Together, they marked Indigenous Peoples' Day. Greenpeace Africa documented how the communities apply ancestral knowledge and traditional practices to protect the forest and peatlands they depend on.

The Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise visited the Baltic Sea as part of the European campaign against fossil gas. There, Greenpeace activists from Poland, Ukraine, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy paid a visit to the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which used to carry fossil gas from Russia to Europe. Greenpeace Poland demands a definitive shutdown of the Nord Stream pipelines, a phase-out of Russian fossil fuels by 2027, and a full phase-out of gas across the EU by 2035 at the latest.

The Rainbow Warrior, Greenpeace's flagship that for decades has carried a message of defending life to every corner of the planet, is in Cartagena, Colombia, reminding us that the Amazon is not negotiable: it is respected and defended. During its passage through Colombia, on the way to COP30 to be held in Belém, Brazil, it reminded us of the urgency of stopping deforestation, protecting biodiversity and guaranteeing fair financing for indigenous peoples and local communities, who have cared for the forests for generations. In Belém, Greenpeace will demand concrete commitments: zero deforestation by 2030, direct financing and environmental governance that puts life as a priority.

A few hours before the start of the COP30 in Brazil today, a Greenpeace activist walked along a highline 30 meters above the center of Madrid with a 30-square-meter banner bearing the slogan "The planet on a tightrope." With this unprecedented action, the environmental organization seeks to demand that the governments meeting at COP put an end to fossil fuels and deforestation by 2030, halfway through what the scientific community has called the decisive decade in the face of the climate emergency.

Greenpeace activists and volunteers march in the annual 'We have had enough!' protest for a more sustainable agriculture in Berlin. Environmental activists take to the streets with Greenpeace's pig and cow balloons, banners, and signs.

Ahead of a federal election, Greenpeace Canada's activists projected powerful messages on the world-famous Niagara Falls: "Don't Trump Canada", "Elbows up" and "RESIST". Greenpeace Canada is calling out politicians like Trump and Poilievre for spreading fear and division, while polluting industries like oil & gas seek to take advantage of a crisis they helped create. Greenpeace Canada is asking Poilievre and all political parties to protect people and the environment, not polluters and billionaires. This projection was also a solidarity statement in support of Greenpeace US, who has been found liable for more than US$660 million in the Energy Transfer SLAPP trial.

The Rainbow Warrior arrives in Auckland, New Zealand, for the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the original Rainbow Warrior in Auckland by French Government agents in 1985. The Greenpeace flagship has just returned from taking action on bottom trawling on the Chatham Rise off New Zealand's East Coast.

Malaysian actress Sharifah Sofia holds a banner reads "Stop Deep Sea Mining" in front of the deep-sea vessel "Hidden Gem" which is anchored at sea in Labuan, Malaysia. The Hidden Gem, owned by AllSeas and commissioned by The Metals Company, is the deep-sea mining industry's flagship vessel. It is currently in Labuan, Malaysia, in long-term storage. The Metals Company confirmed in late April that they have submitted the first-ever commercial mining application to the US government, with the company stating they are "ready to go".

Hundreds of people rally outside the "Summit on the Future of Energy Security", in London. The summit is co-hosted by the UK government and the International Energy Agency and attended by officials from the pro-fossil fuels Trump administration. The demonstrators want an end to new drilling in UK waters, including new projects such as the controversial Rosebank oilfield, as well as a proper plan for transitioning the oil and gas workforce.