Images

Two years have passed since world leaders promised all of us a deal to stop climate change. After two weeks of UN negotiations, politicians breezed in, had dinner with the Queen and then failed to deliver any meaningful action on climate change.

As we all try to come to terms with the historic failure of nerve and vision that paralysed the Copenhagen climate summit, the response of Greenpeace members around the world has been fast and focused: expressing their condemnation of world leaders unwilling or unable to lead in a time of crisis, and demanding the release of the four Greenpeace activists who face spending Christmas in jail after making a peaceful protest at the Danish Queen's dinner for Heads of State.

Copenhagen

Over 100 Greenpeace staff and supporters held a candle-lit vigil outside Vestre Fængsel prison, Copenhagen, where four of our activists face spending Christmas in jail - held in isolation and without trial. Three of them took part in the peaceful protest at the Danish Queen's Heads of State dinner during the Copenhagen Climate Summit.

The Arctic Sunrise is still in Greenland where the crew (including leading climate scientists and other ice experts) have been monitoring the ongoing disintegration of the Petermann glacier.

Photographer Nick Cobbing is on board, and we've all been oohing and aahing over his stunning images as they come in to the office. They're all the more poignant as the portion of the glacier they depict may soon cease to exist. 

You can view a larger version of this slideshow, and follow updates from the Arctic Sunrise on the Climate Rescue blog.

May's round up of images from around the Greenpeace world come from as far afield as Australia, where activists shut down a giant digger at the most polluting power station in the developed world; India, where we've been installing solar panels in schools; and Thailand, where volunteers canoed 350km to document the toxic damage being done to the Chao Praya, the country's most iconic river.

Stunning images of climate change protests from North and South America, Europe and Asia make up the core of this month's contributions. It's been a busy time for reminding governments what they should already know by now - that we have to wean ourselves of climate-wrecking fossil fuels as soon as possible, and the business as usual is not an option.