Greenpeace Introduction

Greenpeace International Ottho Heldringstraat 5 1066 AZ Amsterdam The Netherlands Phone: +31 (0) 20 718 20 00 Fax: +31 (0) 20 718 20 02 Email: supporter. services. [email  protected] org GREENPEACE – AHMET HALIL HAYTA Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace by: Catalysing an energy revolution to address the number one threat facing our planet: climate change. Defending our oceans by challenging wasteful and destructive fishing, and creating a global network of marine reserves.Protecting the world's ancient forests and the animals, plants and people that depend on them. Working for disarmament and peace by tackling the causes of conflict and calling for the elimination of all nuclear weapons. Creating a toxic free future with safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals in today's products and manufacturing. Campaigning for sustainable agriculture by rej ecting genetically engineered organisms, protecting biodiversity and encouraging socially responsible farming. Greenpeace is present in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Pacific.To maintain its independence, Greenpeace does not accept donations from governments or corporations but relies on contributions from individual supporters and foundation grants. Greenpeace has been campaigning against environmental degradation since 1971 when a small boat of volunteers and journalists sailed into Amchitka, an area north of Alaska where the US Government was conducting underground nuclear tests. This tradition of ‘bearing witness' in a non-violent manner continues today, and our ships are an important part of all our campaign work.Core Values Personal responsibility and Nonviolence We take personal responsibility for our actions, and we are committed to nonviolence. These principles are inspired by the Quaker concept of ‘bearing witness', which is abou t taking action based on conscience – personal action based on personal responsibility. We are accountable for our actions, and everyone on a Greenpeace action is trained in nonviolent direct action. Independence We ensure our financial independence from political or commercial interests.We do not accept money from either companies or governments. And we mean any money. Individual contributions, together with foundations grants, are the only source of our funding. Our independence gives us the authority we need to effectively tackle power, and make real change happen. Greenpeace has no permanent friends or foes In exposing threats to the environment and finding solutions we have no permanent allies or adversaries. If your government or company is willing to change we will work with you to achieve your aims.Dither, backtrack or turn around and we will be back. What matters isn’t words, but actions, and, as far as we’re concerned, there’s only one standard in this: The environment has to benefit. Promoting solutions We seek solutions for, and promote open, informed debate about society's environmental choices. We don’t work to manage environmental problems, we work to eliminate them. That’s why we developed our roadmap to save the seas through the establishment of marine reserves, and an Energy [R]evolution lueprint that points the way to a clean economy. It’s not enough for us to point the finger; we develop, research and promote concrete steps towards a green and peaceful future for all of us. Greenpeace structure and organisation Background – April 15, 2011 Greenpeace is a global environmental organisation, consisting of Greenpeace International (Stichting Greenpeace Council) in Amsterdam, and 28 national and regional offices around the world, providing a presence in over 40 countries.These national/regional offices are independent in carrying out global campaign strategies within the local context they operate within, and in seeking the necessary financial support from donors to fund this work. zoom In most National and Regional offices, voting memberships made up of activists and volunteers elect a Board of Directors. The development and coordination of these global strategies is the task of Greenpeace International.Supported by a consultative international decision making process in which the National/Regional Offices are the main stakeholders, Greenpeace International co-ordinates worldwide campaigns and monitors the development and performance of national and regional Greenpeace offices. The Greenpeace National / Regional offices are firmly rooted within the local environmental communities around the globe in the countries where Greenpeace operates. They maintain our direct contact with the public: all Greenpeace offices can be directly contacted by phone or email.Greenpeace International is the entity that maintains contacts with supporters and donors in countries where we do not have offices. It also provides a range of services to the national/regional offices such as maintenance of the Greenpeace ships, setting up new Greenpeace offices, drawing up combined financial forecasts and strategies for the worldwide organisation, providing fundraising support to national/regional offices, providing cost-efficient global IT services and Internet tools, and protecting the Greenpeace trademark.Greenpeace National and Regional Offices are licensed to use the name â€Å"Greenpeace† by Stichting Greenpeace Council. National and Regional offices contribute financially to Greenpeace International, campaign locally, participate in international campaigns, and help shape the international campaign programme. Greenpeace Africa Greenpeace Argentina Greenpeace Australia-Pacific Greenpeace Belgium Greenpeace Brazil Greenpeace Canada Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe Greenpeace Chile Greenpeace Czech Republic Greenpeace East Asia Greenpeace France Greenpeace Ge rmany Greenpeace Greece Greenpeace IndiaGreenpeace Italy Greenpeace Japan Greenpeace Luxembourg Greenpeace Mediterranean Greenpeace Mexico Greenpeace Netherlands Greenpeace New Zealand Greenpeace Nordic Greenpeace Russia Greenpeace Southeast Asia Greenpeace Spain Greenpeace Switzerland Greenpeace UK Greenpeace USA South Korea abandons ‘scientific’ whaling plans Press release – December 4, 2012 Amsterdam, December 4, 2012 – Greenpeace confirmed on Tuesday that the government of South Korea has abandoned its plans to begin a ‘scientific’ whaling operation, a significant step forward in global efforts to protect whale populations.The proposed hunt, announced in July, would have caught minke whales for commercial purposes under the thin veil of scientific research. More than 100,000 people from around the world sent messages in the last month to the South Korean prime minister, asking him to call off the hunt. â€Å"The voices of people from Sout h Korea and the entire world have been heard by the South Korean government,† said Greenpeace East Asia oceans campaigner Jeonghee Han. â€Å"The South Korean government’s decision to not take up scientific whaling is another sign that commercial whaling has no place in our oceans.We urge South Korea to abandon all commercial whaling activities in the future. † Under International Whaling Commission (IWC) rules, a formal proposal for the ‘scientific’ hunt was required by 3 December. The IWC has confirmed to Greenpeace that the South Korean government has not submitted this. South Korean officials have also confirmed to Greenpeace that a decision to not move forward with the hunt was taken a few days ago. â€Å"The world does not support commercial whaling, even when it is disguised as scientific research.The decision by South Korea to listen to its own people and the global community and abandon a whaling programme modelled on that of Japan is a hug e win for the world’s whales,† added John Frizell, Greenpeace International oceans campaigner. Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment, and to promote peace. Greenpeace is opposed to commercial whaling in all of the world’s oceans. Greenpeace does good work in protecting the environment and drawing people's attention to it. Greenpeace demonstrating against Esso. March, 6. 2003.