The stunt highlights what the organisation described as the “obscene” profits being made by one of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies while communities across the globe suffer the escalating impacts of climate change.

Shell today reported almost $10 billion ($9.84 billion or £7.4 billion)  in profit for the second quarter of 2026 alone.

Images from today’s action are available here.

Greenpeace analysis shows the scale of those profits:

• Shell made the equivalent of an average UK worker’s annual salary in profit every 37 seconds.
• An average UK worker would need to work for around 210,000 years – or 5,300 full working lifetimes – to earn what Shell made in just three months.
• Shell’s Q2 profits alone could have funded around 4.7 GW of new onshore wind capacity – enough to generate electricity for around 5.8 million UK homes.
• The fossil fuel giant’s Q2 earnings could cover the annual energy bills of nearly 4.5 million UK households – more than every household in London, based on the current Ofgem price cap of £1,663 a year for a typical direct debit household.
• Someone earning over £9,900 every day since the birth of Jesus still wouldn’t have earned as much as Shell made in profit in the last three months alone.

Responding to Shell’s bumper second-quarter profits, Greenpeace political campaigner Rudy Schulkind said:

“We’re running out of words to describe the obscenity of these numbers. As these figures land, Europe is engulfed by apocalyptic wildfires, communities across Asia are reeling from devastating floods, and the UK battles through drought and yet more dangerous heat. 

These aren’t anomalies; they’re the defining story of the fossil fuel age: Shell takes the profits, and the rest of us pick up the catastrophic bill.

“There is nothing to celebrate about a business model that generates billions for shareholders while families lose their homes, farmers’ crops fail, public services buckle and future generations inherit an increasingly unstable climate. Let’s be clear: these profits are built on a business model that is upending lives across the world.”

The protest comes as the Northern Hemisphere experiences another summer of destructive climate extremes. Across Europe, North Africa and beyond, communities have endured deadly heatwaves, catastrophic wildfires, prolonged drought and devastating floods.

In the UK, record-breaking temperatures this summer are estimated to have contributed to around 2,700 excess deaths, while prolonged dry conditions have left half of England officially in ‘exceptionally serious’ drought. Since mid-July, wildfires have swept across France, Spain and Portugal, forcing more than 300,000 people to evacuate.

Scientists have concluded that the extreme temperatures experienced across the UK and Europe this summer would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change driven primarily by the burning of fossil fuels. Despite this, the oil and gas industry continues to lobby the Burnham government to approve new North Sea oil and gas developments, including the controversial Rosebank and Jackdaw fields.

Schulkind added:

“Andy Burnham’s Labour government has a choice. It can continue shielding the extraordinary profits of oil and gas giants, or it can make polluters pay by strengthening oil and gas taxation and using the revenue to help households with the cost of living, strengthen our resilience against extreme weather, and supercharge the transition to clean, affordable energy. A government that claims to be on the side of working people cannot credibly do both.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

How each figure was calculated (all at £7.4 billion):

• Shell earns an average UK annual salary every 37 seconds.
  Based on Shell’s reported Q2 2026 profit of £7.4 billion over a 91-day quarter (7,862,400 seconds), the company earned approximately £934 in profit every second. Using an average UK full-time annual salary of £35,000, this equates to the average worker’s annual salary every 37.5 seconds, rounded to 37 seconds.
• 210,000 years / 5,300 working lifetimes.
  Based on an average UK full-time annual salary of £35,000, it would take an average worker approximately 211,428 years to earn £7.4 billion, rounded to 210,000 years. Assuming a 40-year working career, this is equivalent to approximately 5,286 working lifetimes, rounded to 5,300 lifetimes.
• Enough to generate electricity for 5.8 million homes:
  Using Arup’s central capital expenditure estimate of £1,588 per kW for UK onshore wind (DESNZ, July 2025), £7.4 billion could fund approximately 4.66GW of new onshore wind capacity. Applying Arup’s central 38.1% load factor, this would generate around 15.6TWh of electricity annually. Based on the DESNZ/Ofgem medium annual household electricity consumption of 2,700kWh, this is enough to power approximately 5.77 million UK homes, rounded to 5.8 million.
• Enough to cover the annual energy bills of nearly 4.5 million households: Using Ofgem’s energy price cap for 1 July–30 September 2026 of £1,663 per year for a typical dual-fuel direct debit household, £7.4 billion would cover the annual energy bills of approximately 4,449,789 households, rounded to nearly 4.5 million households. For comparison, this is more than the total number of households in London.
• £9,900 every day since the birth of Jesus. Someone earning £9,900 every day from the birth of Jesus until today (calculated using 2,026 years × 365.25 days) would have earned approximately £7.33 billion – still around £73 million less than Shell’s £7.4 billion profit in Q2 2026 alone. This figure is converted from the original dollar comparison using an exchange rate of US$1.334 to £1 and rounded down to ensure the comparison remains accurate.

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The findings come as millions of households face new restrictions on their water use following a prolonged spell of hot and dry weather. 

The most recent Ofwat data shows that water companies are still wasting a staggering 2.87 billion litres of water every day through leaky pipes, enough to fill 1,150 Olympic-sized swimming pools. A fifth of all the water pumped into the network is lost in this way. By comparison, a nationwide hosepipe ban is estimated to save about 4% of the water distributed (577 million litres per day) – an amount five times smaller than that wasted through leaks.

Following a very dry and hot end of June and start of July, all regions in England are experiencing drier-than-average soils, with river flows and groundwater levels declining at nearly all sites and reservoir storage below the long-term average for this time of year. [1] 

The water industry, which was privatised in the 1980s, has faced widespread criticism for prioritising shareholders’ dividends over investing in critical infrastructure. While leakage has fallen in recent years, the scale of the waste remains huge and the infrastructure inadequate. 

Aside from the well-known issue of underinvestment in sewage treatment, not a single major new reservoir has been built in England and Wales over the last 30 years, although several projects are now planned. Until recently, the rate of replacement of old water pipes – where many of the leaks occur – meant that it would take 700 years to replace the entire network, according to the National Audit Office. [2] 

Meanwhile, the Climate Change Committee has warned that climate change will make droughts more frequent, intense and widespread, with England facing a potential water-supply shortfall of more than five billion litres a day by the mid-2050s. [3] 

Greenpeace UK is calling on the government to crack down on failing water companies once and for all, and set out how it plans to climate-proof the sector in its upcoming Water Bill.

Commenting on the findings, Greenpeace UK’s chief scientist Dr Doug Parr said:

“Of course people should use water carefully during prolonged hot and dry weather. But it’s galling to be told to put away the hose while water companies are losing nearly three billion litres every day through leaks. Fossil-fuelled climate change is making severe droughts more frequent and more dangerous, so ministers must not treat water security as tomorrow’s problem. The incoming Burnham government must force water companies to repair and renew the network and tackle the fossil-fuel pollution driving extreme heat and drought. Without this, people and nature will ultimately pay the price, not the company shareholders and execs.”

Notes to editors:

1. Environment Agency weekly update
2. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-24/it-will-take-700-years-to-replace-uk-water-grid-at-current-pace  
3. From the National Framework for Water Resources 2025

Methodology

Greenpeace UK researchers analysed the latest available Ofwat figures, published in January 2026. The determination forecast for water distribution by 17 water firms across England and Wales in 2024-25 is 14,428 million litres per day. The overall amount of water leaked over the same period is 2,869 million litres per day. According to industry research quoted by the Environment Agency, hosepipe bans and temporary use bans can reduce the amount of water companies put in their distribution network by 3 to 5%, so our researchers used the mean, 4%, for their calculations. 4% of 14,428 million is 577 million litres per day, meaning the water lost to leaks is about five times what a hosepipe ban would save. 

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On page 88 of the Environmental Impact Assessment, Adura states:

“The 300 jobs on Shearwater are comprised of the current 273 jobs for operating the Shearwater host installation, plus 27 new Full Time Equivalent (FTE) roles required for the Jackdaw-specific activities.”

This means the project would create just 27 new full-time equivalent jobs, with the remaining roles already existing as part of the Shearwater platform’s operations. To put that into context, that’s not enough people to fill the top deck of a double-decker bus and fewer than the players who were on the field during the England vs Argentina World Cup semifinal.

The finding contradicts years of political and industry messaging used to justify approval of new oil and gas developments on employment grounds.

Conservative Shadow Scottish Secretary Andrew Bowie has described Jackdaw as a project that would “help shape the lives of thousands of North Sea workers for years to come”, adding that it would “create 3,500 jobs during construction, with 880 high-quality, well-paid jobs sustained throughout production.” However, Adura’s own assessment indicates that the number of genuinely new permanent jobs associated with Jackdaw specifically is only 27.

Campaigners say the disclosure further weakens the case for approving new fossil fuel developments on employment grounds.

Angharad Hopkinson, political campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said:

Adura has scored an own goal with its Environmental Impact Assessment. After years of claims that projects like Jackdaw are essential for protecting jobs, the company’s own figures show the project won’t create enough full-time roles to fill the top deck of a London bus.

“It’s never been workers who stand to gain most from projects like Jackdaw – it’s oil and gas companies and their shareholders. After a record-breaking summer of extreme heat driven largely by fossil fuels, this isn’t the time for Andy Burnham to cave in to the demands of the polluters’ lobby. If he’s looking for job creation, the clean economy is where he’ll find it.

ENDS

Contact: Greenpeace UK press team at press.uk@greenpeace.org and on 020 7865 8255

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Kathryn, who is the Deputy Secretary General at Amnesty International, brings many years of director-level experience in international development and human rights to the role.

Before joining Amnesty, she held high-profile posts at International Alert, the global peace-building organisation, and Conciliation Resources, an international organisation committed to stopping violent conflict, where she was responsible for programme delivery across 15 countries, including Latin America and Africa.

Kathryn also spent six years as Asia Regional Director for the BBC Media Action, reaching more than 100 million people a year in some of the world’s poorest countries, and establishing new offices in Indonesia and Myanmar. 

Her career spans bringing about change for both people and planet. Her previous role as chair was with Walworth Garden, a charity providing learning and horticultural therapy through an award-winning community garden. At BBC Media Action, she oversaw the world’s largest survey of the impact of climate change.

Commenting on her appointment, Kathryn Tomlinson said:

I’m incredibly excited to take on this role at Greenpeace UK, an organisation I’ve admired for decades. Ever since joining my parents on marches against nuclear weapons as a child, I have seen that what changes the world for the better is people taking action together. And not a day has gone by without a stark reminder of why we need Greenpeace, whether it’s fossil-fuelled heatwaves or the latest report on nature’s collapse. As campaigners face threats from government crackdowns on protest rights to intimidation lawsuits by big polluters, I’m looking forward to putting my expertise at Greenpeace UK’s service. Boards play a crucial role in providing the right structure and backing that allow a campaign group to aim high and take risks. I can’t wait to work with the great talent on this board to support Greenpeace in its vital mission.

Kathryn joins a diverse, highly-skilled board of directors encompassing many crucial areas of expertise from climate studies and humanitarian law to movement building and charity finance.

She is taking over as chair from Andrew McParland, whose eight-year term at the head of the board ended earlier this year. 

Commenting on Kathryn’s appointment and the end of his tenure as chair, Andrew McParland said: 

It’s been an honour and a privilege to serve on the Greenpeace UK board for 16 years, half of them as chair. During that time, I’ve witnessed some of our biggest victories alongside our moments of greatest jeopardy – and how both have added to the organisation’s incredible strength. I’m very glad to pass on the baton to someone of Kathryn’s talent and experience, and to a brilliant team of passionate and capable board members.

ENDS

Contact: Greenpeace UK news team at press.uk@greenpeace.org and on 020 7865 8255

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 Key findings:

●      65% of  UK adults struggled to sleep during June’s heatwave, with nearly half (48%) of those losing three or more hours each night

●      Almost a quarter (23%) said they or someone in their household felt physically unwell because of the heatwave

●      Over half of respondents (56%) said their homes need retrofit upgrades to cope with future heatwaves – yet 78% would struggle to afford them

●      Almost half (46%) of  UK adults said they would support a levy on high-carbon emitting companies to fund these essential upgrades

●      60% of workers said their workplaces were uncomfortably hot, with more than a quarter (27%) admitting they were less productive, and 9% reporting they worked in “unsafe” conditions

●      22% of UK adults were forced to throw away food that spoiled in the heat, went off sooner than expected or couldn’t be kept cool – compounding cost-of-living pressures

 A major new YouGov survey released today reveals the massive social, financial, and productivity cost of June’s historic heatwave – with millions of Brits experiencing sleepless nights, spoiled food and uncomfortably hot workplaces.

The poll, commissioned by Greenpeace UK, shows a nation fundamentally unequipped to cope with rising temperatures caused by climate change. More than half (56%) say their homes need infrastructure upgrades like air conditioning, heat pumps and insulation to withstand extreme heat, but only around 1 in 8 (13%) would find it easy to afford such measures.

While 86% of UK adults say their homes were too hot in the heat, very few (5%) support raising personal taxes to fix the UK’s crumbling infrastructure. Instead, a levy on high-carbon emitting companies emerged as the single most popular funding option[1] drawing significant public support (46%). This ‘polluter pays’ approach won backing from across the political spectrum, including 35% of Conservative and one quarter (26%) of Reform UK voters.

The findings also shed light on the cost-of-living burden of extreme heat on households. Twenty-two percent of respondents said they had to throw away food that spoiled in the heat, went off sooner than expected or couldn’t be kept cool, and over a third (35%) of UK adults spent extra money on fans, cooling, cold food or drinks to cope with the historic temperatures.

The heatwave also took a heavy toll on productivity and workplace safety. More than a quarter (27%) of respondents said they were less productive. Seven percent of UK adults had to stop work early, 4% lost working hours or income and 9% reported working in conditions they felt were unsafe. A whopping 60% of British workers said their workplaces were “too hot”, with one third (34%) reporting their workplaces were “far too hot”.

The data lands as the nation braces for its third heatwave this summer, following a June that smashed records as the hottest in history. Scientists have confirmed that the extreme temperatures scorching Europe this summer are only possible due to the climate crisis driven mostly by fossil fuel burning.

Mel Evans, head of climate at Greenpeace UK, said:

“This data exposes the brutal reality of dragging our feet on climate action in the UK. Heatwaves are no longer just a novel inconvenience, they are a creeping health, housing, and economic emergency that is costing families money they don’t have. And as these extremes become our new normal, the public wants the corporate polluters who made this mess to pay their fair share towards fixing it.

“It’s a moral failing that UK households are bearing the economic, social and physical costs of climate breakdown mostly caused by fossil fuel giants. The government must stop big polluters from heating up our planet and make sure they pay at least some of the costs of cooling our homes, securing our national infrastructure and protecting public health.”

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors:

1.  Funding options presented in survey: Increasing taxes for everyone (5%); Reducing public spending in other areas (13%); A levy on companies with high emissions (46%); Increasing government borrowing (3%); Something else (6%); Not applicable – I do not think these upgrades are necessary (13%); Don’t know (14%).
2. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. The total sample size was 2,135 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 30th June and 1st July 2026. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+). Full dataset is available upon request. 
3. The late-June heatwave saw provisional records shattered across the UK, including a new provisional June maximum temperature of 37.7°C recorded at Lingwood, Norfolk, and record-breaking overnight minimums (“tropical nights”) of 23.5°C in Wales and 23.2°C in England.

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Thirteen of the UK’s leading environmental organisations have proposed six ‘tests’ for the next prime minister as Keir Starmer prepares to hand over the keys to Number 10. They cover the immediate actions needed to restore nature, deliver net zero and build a fairer, more resilient economy.

The six tests, which have been sent to Andy Burnham, are endorsed by Climate Action Network UK, Climate Outreach, ClientEarth, Friends of the Earth, Green Alliance, Greenpeace UK, Marine Conservation Society, Oceana UK, RSPB, The Climate Coalition, The Wildlife Trusts, Wildlife and Countryside Link and WWF. Together the groups represent millions of supporters across the UK.

They warn that “climate change and nature loss are … threatening our economic stability, food security and public health” but that policies to tackle these threats are “too often treated as separate from the government’s core priorities”. 

It comes as the UK braces for another heatwave with temperatures expected to reach the mid-30Cs in England and Wales next week – the third heatwave so far this year. The groups also point to the continued decline of wildlife and rising pressures on food, water and public health as evidence of environmental breakdown. 

The six ‘key tests’ for the next prime minister are as follows:

• Bring down bills for good   

Ensuring more people feel the benefits of the energy transition by using the Energy Independence Bill to roll out renewable energy at pace, legislate for the North Sea oil and gas licensing ban, and make a full government commitment to electrification and insulation for homes.

• Support a fair transition for workers and communities   

Champion policies that lower bills, warm homes and create high-quality jobs, learning from past transitions to better support workers and industries impacted by change, including British farmers.

• Restore our natural environment   

Protect at least 30% of land and sea for nature while also supporting nature friendly farming practices and ensuring that new housing and infrastructure allows both people and nature to thrive.

• Ensure polluters play their part in the transition 

Stand up to the polluters who have been making huge profits – whether by dumping sewage and chemicals into our waterways or by producing climate-wrecking fossil fuels –  and hold them to account through tighter regulation, fines and taxation.   

• Protect civic space, public participation and the right to protest 

Safeguard our democracy and protect civic space to ensure the British public can have their voices heard, whether that be through protest, legal challenge, campaigning or community action.

• Champion international leadership   

Drive forward international action on climate and nature. They must also oppose violations of international law that so often cause – and are caused by – environmental neglect and unsustainable energy policies. 

Public support for stronger action is clear: 83% of people say that restoring nature is a priority, yet only 15% believe the government is currently doing enough to deliver it. Separate polling by Greenpeace shows that investing in renewables and higher taxes on oil and gas company profits are among the most popular policies among Labour defectors.Together, this points to both a strong mandate and a significant political opportunity for leaders prepared to put climate and nature at the heart of their agenda. 

Areeba Hamid, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK said: 

“A prime minister’s first duty is to keep us safe. In the last few months we’ve seen hundreds of people die prematurely in back-to-back heatwaves. Our energy and food bills have skyrocketed because of Trump’s fossil fuel war, forcing millions into fuel poverty. Burnham’s in-tray is overflowing, but thankfully we’re already well on our way to clean, homegrown power. Many of the policy foundations are there – he just needs to go further and faster. These six tests would be good for people, good for our environment and good for the economy. Now Burnham must decide.”

Blanche Shackleton, interim executive director of Green Alliance said:

“The next Prime Minister must avoid treating climate and nature as political battlegrounds. The choices made in the coming years will shape the UK’s prosperity, security and wellbeing for decades to come. Getting this right means lower bills, healthier communities, and a thriving natural environment. Failing to act will leave everyone paying a far higher price.”

Tanya Steele, CEO of WWF, said:

“Climate and nature are central to the UK’s resilience, security and future prosperity. The next prime minister has an opportunity to put climate and nature at the heart of their vision to make Britain a better place to live for everyone. Getting this right won’t just help save our wildlife and cut emissions, it will strengthen our food security, protect communities from growing climate shocks and build a more resilient future for both people and nature.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

The full letter with the six tests is available here: https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/resources/open-letter-to-the-uks-next-prime-minister/ 

The signatories to the key tests are: Climate Action Network UK, Climate Outreach, ClientEarth, Friends of the Earth, Green Alliance, Greenpeace UK, Marine Conservation Society, Oceana UK, RSPB, The Climate Coalition, The Wildlife Trusts, Wildlife and Countryside Link, WWF. 

Polling by the National Trust and More In Common in March 2026 found that 83% of respondents say restoring nature is important or a top priority to them personally – rising to 91% for Labour voters. Only 15% think the government is doing a good job at protecting the natural world. https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4527282/poll-brits-political-stripes-nature-lovers 

Polling by Greenpeace UK and YouGov in May 2026 offered respondents a choice of policies from different areas. Investing in renewable power and implementing higher taxes on oil and gas company profits were consistently among the most popular among people who have defected from Labour since 2024. 

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Pavements, rail platforms, building sites and playgrounds across London reached sweltering surface temperatures in the 50-60C range yesterday, according to thermal camera images captured for Greenpeace UK during the record-breaking heatwave.

The series of shots, taken by thermal imaging experts, reveal how extreme heat is putting a huge strain on daily life in the capital, affecting shoppers, passengers, children and outdoor workers. 

Images taken in the heart of the capital show people walking across scorching surfaces in Piccadilly Circus (56C), Oxford Circus (56C), and Regent Street (57C) yesterday afternoon, as air temperatures hovered around 35C. The camera marks higher temperatures in lighter colours and lower ones in darker tones.

On the sunlit overground platform at Highbury & Islington, the camera detected a surface temperature of 62C. At a bus stop on Gray’s Inn Road the pavement temperature reached up to 59C, while the granite paving stones in King’s Cross Square hit a sizzling 54C. The floor of a packed Victoria Line carriage showed a maximum reading of around 40C.

As the mercury soared after noon, many outdoor workers in London were also exposed to searing temperatures. At a roadwork site in Holborn, the churned-up tarmac glows white-hot in the thermal footage, hitting a staggering 65C, while parts of a nearby scaffolding ranged from 40-60C, depending on the material.

At a semi-deserted playground in Islington, the black rubber floor reached up to 53C at 5pm. 

Unlike standard thermometers, which measure air temperature, thermal cameras show how hot the streets, pavements and buildings really get. The data reveals the extreme surface heat people face in urban areas, especially where tarmac, glass and a lack of tree cover turn streets into heat traps. 

Commenting on the findings, Greenpeace UK head of climate Mel Evans said:

“This record-smashing heatwave has turned London into a sticky, sizzling cauldron. This isn’t just weather – it’s a public health emergency driven by fossil fuel giants and their planet-heating emissions. These abnormal temperatures are stretching homes, schools, transport and our own health to breaking point, and yet the government has been caught off guard. Ministers need to stop winging it and deliver a proper extreme heat plan, with cooler homes and schools, safe limits for workers, more shade and green space, and clear protection for the most vulnerable. But adaptation alone won’t be enough. Political leaders must also stop fossil fuel companies from turning up the heat on our planet – and make them pay their fair share to fix the problem they’ve caused.”

ENDS

Photos and footage available for download here.

Notes

The images were taken by TI Thermal Imaging, experts in thermographic inspections, using a FOTRIC Ti7 camera at various Central and North London locations on Wednesday 24 June, between 2pm and 5pm.

Contact: Greenpeace UK press team on 020 7865 8255 and press.uk@greenpeace.org

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As a relentless heatwave grips the UK and threatens to topple June temperature records, environmental campaigners are urging the government to set out an extreme heat strategy to support the country through the summer’s worsening heat spikes.

Greenpeace UK is calling on ministers to rethink how Britain prepares for summer, warning that extreme heat is no longer a rare inconvenience but a growing threat to public health, workers, children and critical infrastructure. A new Met Office analysis indicates Britain could reach peak temperatures of 45C by 2056, with more extreme heatwaves than that of 1976.

With temperatures expected to soar well past 35C across parts of the UK, Greenpeace said ministers must move beyond short-term advice like “drink more water and stay indoors” and introduce proper legal protections for people most exposed to extreme heat.

The organisation is calling for a new Extreme Heat Strategy, including:

• Legal limits on maximum workplace temperatures, and the right to work from home during amber and red heat alerts where possible;
• A requirement for heat safety plans for schools and hospitals as temperatures get hotter, including remote learning when classrooms become unsafe;
• Emergency funding to heat-proof schools, hospitals, care homes and public housing;
• Public cooling centres in libraries, community centres and other public buildings;
• A stronger tax on the fossil fuel industry’s multi-billion-pound profits to help fund these measures. 

The UK currently has no legal maximum temperature for workplaces. The Climate Change Committee’s latest report urged ministers to introduce statutory upper limits for indoor and outdoor work settings, and some unions have done the same.

Greenpeace UK said the heatwave should be a wake-up call for a country still largely designed around mild summers, despite climate change making extreme heat more frequent and dangerous.

Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director Areeba Hamid said:

“The fossil-fuelled climate crisis is turning once-mild British summers into life-threatening heatwaves. And yet ministers are still acting as if extreme heat were an occasional seasonal quirk, when it is fast becoming a regular and serious public health risk. When classrooms become ovens, care homes overheat, transport starts to buckle and workers are forced to toil in dangerous temperatures, it’s clear the country isn’t ready.

“Ministers need to stop winging it on extreme weather and start treating it as the security and public health challenge it is. Progress on cutting emissions has been far too slow, which means we now need proper legal protections for workers, clear rules for schools, cool public spaces, safer homes and a serious plan to protect those most at risk. But adaptation alone won’t be enough. Ministers must also stop fossil fuel giants from turning up the heat on our planet – and make them pay for the damage they are causing.”

Greenpeace UK said the government should publish a cross-departmental summer resilience plan, covering workplaces, schools, hospitals, care homes, transport, housing and local authorities. The organisation warned that those most at risk from extreme heat include older people, children, outdoor workers, people with existing health conditions, renters in poorly insulated homes, low-income households and people living in dense urban areas with little shade or green space.

ENDS

Contact: Greenpeace UK press office on 020 7865 8255 and press.uk@greenpeace.org

Notes:

Greenpeace UK is calling for the government to introduce a national summer resilience plan including:

• Legal limits on maximum workplace temperatures, including for outdoor workers, as recommended by the Climate Change Committee and in consultation with the unions;
• Mandatory paid rest breaks, shade, water and cooling for workers exposed to heat;
• The right to work from home during amber and red heat alerts where possible;
• A requirement for heat safety plans for schools and hospitals as temperatures get hotter, including remote learning when classrooms become unsafe;
• Preventative healthcare visits to heat-vulnerable people;
• Emergency funding to heat-proof schools, hospitals, care homes, prisons and public housing;
• Public cooling centres in libraries, community centres and other public buildings;
• A national programme to protect homes, streets and cities from excess heat through shading, trees, green spaces, insulation, cool roofs and better ventilation;
• A stronger tax on the fossil fuel industry’s multi-billion-pound profits to help fund these measures. 

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Greenpeace UK has today announced its intention to create new underwater boulder barriers in UK Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). 

A decade after the Brexit vote, the charity, backed by a raft of celebrities and ocean conservation organisations, has accused the government of failing to use its post-Brexit powers to properly protect UK seas from destructive industrial fishing.

In 2020, The Fisheries Act gave the UK government full powers to protect UKMPAs. Despite this, destructive industrial fishing vessels are still allowed to trawl the vast majority of these so-called protected areas. Last year the government announced plans to ban bottom trawling in 41 MPAs but, since the consultation ended more than six months ago, no action has been taken. And even if bottom trawling was banned in these areas, other forms of industrial fishing would still be allowed to continue and MPAs left vulnerable. [1]

Earlier this year, Greenpeace UK’s analysis revealed a staggering 1.3 million tonnes of fish had been caught in offshore UK MPAs since 2020. Over 1 million tonnes were caught by pelagic trawlers – a method that would not be restricted by current bottom-trawling proposals. 

Greenpeace says it now has “no choice but to step in” and use its ships to create more boulder barriers, similar to those it created in UK MPAs in 2020, 2021 and 2022, to repel destructive industrial trawlers and turn the UK’s weak MPAs into properly protected ocean sanctuaries.

Greenpeace UK’s co-exec director Will McCallum said: 

“Post-Brexit powers to fully protect marine protected areas have been available to successive governments for the last five years but all have sat back and let destructive industrial fishing continue. Our oceans cannot wait any longer. If this government won’t protect our seas, we will.”

In a letter [2] to the Prime Minister signed by leading ocean conservation organisations including The Angling Trust and Rewilding Britain, as well as public figures including Stephen Fry, Paloma Faith, Simon Pegg and Mya-Rose Craig, Greenpeace UK writes: 

“Despite leaving the European Union with stronger powers to conserve our marine environment, these powers have not been utilised. Our seas are being pushed to the brink as industrial fishing vessels continue to plough through so-called protected areas, emptying them of fish, killing precious wildlife like sharks, dolphins and sea birds – all of which ultimately damages economic opportunity in our coastal communities…

“In 2020, 2021 and 2022, we sailed Greenpeace vessels into three of the most intensively fished marine protected areas in the UK and created underwater barriers with boulders to stop industrial bottom trawling from ripping up precious ecosystems… Years later, the places we created barriers are still protected, while successive governments have failed to stop the rampant destruction of the vast majority of so-called marine protected areas. 

“This leaves us no choice but to step in again… Using our ships, we will create more boulder barriers to repel destructive industrial trawlers and turn the UK’s weak Marine Protected Areas into proper protected Ocean Sanctuaries.

“This is a wake up call: no more broken promises, it’s time to act. If your government is serious about ocean protection, it must properly protect our seas at home, work harder to protect the interests of coastal communities and push further by creating protected places for wildlife across the Atlantic ocean.”

Stephen Fry, Paloma Faith and Simon Pegg added their own voices directly to the call for the government to properly protect UK MPAs. 

Paloma Faith said: “Marine Protected Areas should be exactly that: protected. Yet industrial fishing trawlers are still being allowed into them, putting the wildlife and habitats they were meant to protect at risk. It’s hard to understand how this has been allowed to continue for so long. I’m grateful that Greenpeace are taking action where governments have repeatedly fallen short. Our oceans are under enormous pressure, and these protections must become more than a promise on paper.”

Stephen Fry said: “Permitting industrial trawlers to continue plundering areas of the ocean designated for protection is not merely absurd; it’s a complete failure of common sense. This shockingly destructive practice urgently needs to stop. In the absence of government action to fully protect marine protected areas, thank heavens for Greenpeace.” 

Simon Pegg said: “Properly protecting our Marine Protected Areas isn’t complicated. All the paperwork was done years ago and yet the government is still delaying. I’m delighted that Greenpeace are taking the matter into their own hands and taking real, concrete, action – quite literally. It worked before and it will work again. Let’s get these special areas protected – for wildlife, for local communities and for us all.”

ENDS

Contact: Greenpeace UK Press Office on press.uk@greenpeace.org

Notes to Editors: 

Download images of previous boulder drops here: https://media.greenpeace.org/Detail/27MZIFJHLDTXJ 

[1] The Fisheries Act 2020 introduced new powers for authorities to make byelaws to manage fishing in all UK MPAs for the conservation of marine flora, fauna and habitats. 

To date, under the Marine Management Organisation’s marine protected areas process, just 17 of the UK’s 78 offshore (beyond 12 nautical miles from the coast) MPAs have been afforded some kind of protection.

The Marine Management Organisation’s marine protected areas byelaws process has 4 stages covering England’s MPAs. 

• In 2020, Greenpeace placed boulders in the Dogger Bank MPA, which was subsequently closed by the government to bottom trawling, along with another 3 MPAs as part of Stage 1 of the process.
• In 2021 Greenpeace placed boulders in the Offshore Brighton MPA. Bottom trawling was subsequently banned there alongside another 12 MPAs as part of Stage 2. 
• In September 2022, Greenpeace dropped boulders in the South West Deeps MPA. This MPA is included in the Stage 3 proposals announced by the government in June 2025 to ban bottom trawling in a further 41 English MPAs. The government is yet to act following consultation on these proposals.
• To date, no announcement has been made indicating the start of Stage 4 which covers the impacts of fishing on MPAs with highly mobile species features. These are two MPAs protecting harbour porpoise, and three MPAs protecting certain bird species.

Greenpeace UK has criticised the process as inadequate because it takes a piecemeal approach, proposing to ban only certain fishing gear types from certain areas – in some cases not even across complete MPAs – rather than protecting UK MPAs site-wide from all destructive industrial fishing.

• In its official response to the Stage 3 consultation, Greenpeace UK stated: 

“The appropriate response is to protect offshore MPAs site-wide from destructive, industrial fishing of all types, using the power enshrined in the Fisheries Act. Anything less will continue to fall short, for marine life and vulnerable habitats, for low impact fishers and fishing communities, and for the wider UK public.”

[2] A copy of the letter is available on request. The letter mentions Greenpeace’s plans to place more boulders in marine protected areas to stop destructive fishing if the government fails to act. This is a Greenpeace campaign tactic, and other nature organisations that have signed the letter have no involvement in planning this activity.

The post Greenpeace announces new ocean boulder barrier plans, telling PM: “If your government won’t protect our seas, we will” appeared first on Greenpeace UK.

At Greenpeace UK, we recognise that diversity is not just a metric; it’s how we win the fight for climate justice. To effectively tackle the climate crisis, our team must reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of London – the city where we are rooted.

We are not just changing who we are; we are changing how we win.
In 2025, we set a bold ambition: by 2030, at least 38.3% of our staff will identify as People of Colour (PoC), aligning us with the diversity of the London workforce.

Where we stand in 2026

Our overall representation of People of Colour has grown to 26%, up from the 2025 baseline 23.4%. This is a positive move towards our 38.3% target, one that we are committed to making progress on.  

The table below shows our 2026 representation across the organisation compared to our 2025 baseline and our ultimate 2030 goals. Collected in March – exactly one year after setting our targets – these figures will be updated and published annually every spring to maintain full transparency. 

* These are umbrella terms defined by the 2021 Census and ONS Labour Force Survey. We acknowledge that these terms may not resonate with everyone. We have chosen these datasets because they provide a framework of numerical accuracy and will help us track our progress meaningfully.

Turning data into action

The positive shifts in our representation in the past 12 months demonstrate that change is possible when it is led from the heart of the organisation and woven into the fabric of our mission. We are determined to keep building on this momentum.

The non-disclosure data – representing colleagues who have chosen not to disclose their ethnicity – remains at 4% overall. We are committed to fostering a culture of psychological safety where everyone feels comfortable sharing their identity, knowing it will be valued and their data will enable GPUK to be accountable in the fight for climate justice.

We will continue to review and publish these figures annually. Transparency is the first step toward the inclusive and equitable Greenpeace UK that our mission demands.

The post Shifting power within Greenpeace UK: where we stand on our 2030 representation targets appeared first on Greenpeace UK.