PICTURES: Activists in 12 countries rally for nature ahead of UN Biodiversity COP16

Amsterdam, 19 October 2024 - Greenpeace activists launched creative visual protests in 12 countries from Indonesia to Mexico, from Sweden to Hungary, sending a clear message to governments ahead of the COP16 UN biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia: protect nature and restore biodiversity, for people and planet.

Over the last 24 hours, actions, protests and public demonstrations took place in Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the UK, with more to come in Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Mexico, and include projections on iconic locations in cities and in nature areas.

Syahrul Fitra, Defund Nature Destruction Now campaigner at Greenpeace Indonesia, and one of the Greenpeace delegation in Cali, said: "Destroying nature is destroying our home, yet banks and financial institutions give billions of dollars each year to greedy corporations that are doing just that. Big agribusiness, meat producers and industrial forestry are making short term profits from ecosystem destruction. This has to stop. People around the world are demanding their governments take action now to protect nature and restore biodiversity."

Highlights from the #HopeForNature day of action include:

• In Austria, Hungary, Indonesia, Mexico, Romania, Sweden and the UK projections on iconic landmarks from tower bridge in London, to the chain bridge in Budapest showed emotional messages of people demanding urgent action from governments at UN Biodiversity COP16.
• In the Netherlands, activists create a nine-metre high "wish tree" with thousands of messages of hope, collected from all over the world.
• In Prague, hundreds of LED lights formed the words "Hope for Nature".
• In Bonn, giant domino tiles were erected in front of the UN headquarters and visualising humanity's dependence on biodiversity.
• Across the globe, from Australia to Brazil thousands of people shared their compelling messages of "Hope for Nature" online directed at their government and the delegates at the COP16 UN biodiversity talks.
• Earlier this week activists in the Netherlands and Spain exposed the complicity of big banks in nature destruction. In Poland, activists called on their government to raise the ambition for nature protection at UN Biodiversity COP16.

Greenpeace is delivering the public's #HopeForNature messages and images to participants at the UN biodiversity talks in Cali, Colombia (21 October - 1 November), demanding from governments present actionable national plans at the conference to finally live up to their commitments to protect nature and restore biodiverse ecosystems that life depends on.

ENDS

Photo and video available from the Greenpeace Media Library. Due to actions happening in multiple time zones, images and video footage will be updated till 20th of October.

Greenpeace demands for UN Biodiversity COP16.

Members of the Greenpeace delegation in Cali are available for interview, including Greenpeace experts and campaigners from Indonesia, Belgium, Poland and Germany. Languages spoken include: Bahasa Indonesia, English, French, Dutch, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese and Polish.

Contacts:

Christine Gebeneter, Communications, Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe (in Vienna): +43 664 8403807, [email protected]

Syahrul Fitra, Defund Nature Destruction Now campaign, Greenpeace Indonesia (in Cali), +62 819 19890505, [email protected]

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), [email protected]

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