2016 In Pictures

Posted by Angela Glienicke — 13 December 2016 at 3:19pm - Comments
All rights reserved. Credit: John Cobb / Greenpeace
Actors Emma Thompson and her sister Sophie take peaceful direct action against the government's plans for fracking

To say 2016 has been eventful would be an understatement - the political upheaval brought about by Brexit in the UK and the new president-elect in the United States, not to mention the ongoing conflict in Syria, are just a part of an overall tumultuous year. <--break->

At Greenpeace, we've also had a busy year campaigning on lots of issues: stopping the Tapajós dam in the Amazon; campaigning against unsustainable fishing methods in the Indian Ocean; fracking and air pollution, to name just a few.

All our campaign work has only been possible because of our dedicated supporters and volunteers.  

Here are just a few of the many amazing pictures that illustrate 2016 in environmental campaigning. 

A big thank you, merry Christmas and happy New Year to you all!

JANUARY

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Campaigners install an artwork displaying hundreds of wellies and testimonies from communities affected by the recent UK floods.

© Steve Morgan / Greenpeace

FEBRUARY

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Greenpeace install a lifelike 10-metre fracking rig and drill at Parliament Square in London to bring the local impacts of fracking to the heart of democracy.

© Kristian Buus / Greenpeace

MARCH

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Greenpeace Brazil activists have joined forces with Munduruku Indigenous leaders to protest the Brazilian government's plans to build a mega dam complex in the Tapajós River, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. 

© Rogério Assis / Greenpeace

APRIL

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Two Greenpeace activists climb Nelson’s Column and fit the statue with a face mask to demand action on air pollution. 

© Jiri Rezac / Greenpeace

MAY

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Activists climb the British Museum in protest at BP’s sponsorship of a new exhibition ‘Sunken Cities’. The climbers unfurl seven huge banners down the front columns of the British Museum. The banners carry the names of cities and regions struck by flooding and climate change disasters.

JUNE

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Greenpeace crew members retrieve a FAD (fish aggregating device) from the Indian Ocean. The FAD is firstly investigated by an ROV (remotely operated vehicle) before divers enter the water to inspect the FAD underneath the surface. The aggregation device is taken back to the ship to be fully dismantled by the ship's crew.

© Will Rose / Greenpeace

JULY

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Still taken from a timelapse recorded as Greenpeace re-brand the Brexit ‘Vote Leave’ battle bus outside Parliament. The false £350m NHS claim is being covered over with thousands of questions for the new government from Leave and Remain voters – many of them about what Brexit means for the environment.

© Greenpeace

AUGUST

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Chief Arnaldo Kaba Munduruku and Ademir Kaba Munduruku, Indigenous People from the Tapajós Basin in the Amazon rainforest, have come to Siemens' UK headquarters in Surrey to demand a meeting with their senior management. Siemens is one of just a few companies who can supply the turbines for large-scale hydroelectric projects like the São Luiz do Tapajós dam. 

© Chris Ratcliffe / Greenpeace

SEPTEMBER

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Photographer Vanessa Miles went back to Blackpool Beach in September, which she first photographed in 1990. This comparison image shows a beach covered in raw sewage in 1990 and a clean beach in 2016 due to the Bathing Water Directive, a regulation set by the EU.

© Vanessa Miles / Greenpeace

OCTOBER

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A water protector holds a burning bundle of sage as police and National Guard confront Native Americans and supporters attempting to block the 1,141-mile Dakota Access Pipeline from crossing under the Missouri River, creating an immediate threat to the Standing Rock Reservation water supply and the drinking water of millions of other people. Sage is traditionally used in ceremonies and rituals to cleanse and protect.

© Richard Bluecloud Castaneda / Greenpeace

NOVEMBER

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The Greenpeace ship Esperanza and the supermoon. The ship is moored in the Firth of Forth, Scotland.

© Will Rose / Greenpeace

DECEMBER

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Doctors, health professionals and medical students launch the Doctors against Diesel campaign and are calling for Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, to commit to phase out diesel vehicles from London.

© David Mirzoeff

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