Our blue planet is under attack! With your help we can protect it.

Posted by Louisa Casson - 21st June 2019

Next year governments at the United Nations have the opportunity to decide the fate of our global oceans. It is now time for global unity in demanding a strong and meaningful Global Ocean Treaty to protect our blue planet.

Our oceans are facing more catastrophic threats than they’ve ever experienced before. Climate change, plastic pollution, industrial fishing, oil drilling and new threats like deep sea mining are all putting life in our blue planet at risk. Ocean habitats are being destroyed, marine life is dying on a massive scale and our oceans are losing their ability to be one of our best defences against climate change.

It’s clear. We need to act now to safeguard the future of our oceans.

Back in April we launched one of our biggest and most ambitious expeditions to protect the world’s oceans. Up until the 2020 deadline for governments to agree this new treaty, we will be sailing from the Arctic to the Antarctic, to draw the world’s attention to the huge threats facing our oceans – and the wonders that we must come together to protect. We’re taking scientists and experts into the remote and deep global oceans to build an unprecedented bank of hard-hitting evidence. And we’ll galvanise support from people all across the world, building global momentum for urgent action to protect our blue planet.

Will you give what you can to fund our mission and help create the protection that our oceans need?

For the first time in history, our world leaders are coming together to finalise a Global Ocean Treaty. Together they will decide the future fate of our oceans. If they decide on a strong Treaty, the world will have the tools to create a network of ocean sanctuaries that will protect 30% of our global oceans by 2030. We can’t let them fail.

It wasn’t long ago that the oceans were thought to be too vast or distant to be permanently damaged by human actions. But the threats we face today are real and growing. Corporations pumping out single-use plastics are happy to let our oceans become the final dumping ground for throwaway products. Away from scrutiny, monster fishing boats are plundering the oceans using destructive fishing methods and forced labour. Oil companies are willing to risk catastrophic oil spills in pursuit of yet more fossil fuels, and fragile underwater ecosystems are being eyed up by mining companies. As these dangers grow, we have to step up to protect our blue planet.

Only with your help will our teams be able to gather video and photographic evidence to make millions of people, and politicians, aware of the true extent of human destruction and to show them the unique opportunity we have to protect our oceans.

Your support could pay for the essential scientific equipment that we need to build the strongest case to influence our world leaders such as satellite communications and remote operated vehicles that enables us to capture essential new footage of our blue planet, including diving deeper than Greenpeace has ever gone before.

We will use the evidence we gather to inspire and motivate people all over the world to push for strong action and build momentum that is impossible for world leaders to ignore.

The importance of making a strong case for ocean protection cannot be underestimated. These talks – which are due to finish in 2020 – provide a historic opportunity, and the science is clear: to restore our oceans to health and help tackle climate change, we need the Treaty to deliver a network of ocean sanctuaries covering at least a third of the world’s oceans by 2030.

These protected areas would not only provide a safe haven for wildlife to recover – they would benefit us all. Healthy oceans provide food security for billions of people. They play a crucial role in storing carbon and keeping climate change under control. Our fate and the fate of our oceans are intimately connected.

Our ambitious, scientific ship expedition will be at the heart of what we do.

There is no time to waste – we have to act now. Please help us protect the oceans and ensure they are thriving with whales, turtles and amazing marine life for generations to come.

Any gift that you are able to give really will make a vital difference.

Thank you for your support.

P.S. This is a once-in-a generation opportunity for governments, the world and all of us collectively to restore what we have lost, to protect the wonders of the ocean and to protect our planet. Please donate what you can to fund our expedition and keep us in action at sea and on land.