Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is an environmental organization established to protect the environment and address the impacts of climate change in the region, with the aim of providing safer and healthier lives for local communities. Recognizing the region as home, the organization emphasizes the importance of collective action to address shared environmental challenges. As an independent organization, Greenpeace MENA aspires to collaborate with local associations, organizations, decision-makers, supporters, media, and all those dedicated to serving the region and preserving its environment. The organization is committed to working collaboratively to identify practical and innovative environmental solutions tailored to the needs of the region. Greenpeace MENA’s work revolves around:

a) Leading innovative and impactful campaigns: Greenpeace MENA collaborates with different stakeholders–climate activists, faith leaders, artists, academics–to highlight the urgent need for a paradigm shift towards climate and environmental justice. Here are two examples of their recent campaigns:

1. Sustainable Islamic Finance for Climate Action : As part of the Ummah For Earth (U4E) Alliance with around 50 members, this campaign aims to harness Islamic values and inspire a resilient Muslim climate justice movement. They launched their innovative Islamic Finance & Renewable Energy Report recently, which examines the profound connection between Islamic finance and renewable energy, providing a comprehensive analysis of how Shariah-compliant financial instruments can drive the global transition to sustainable energy. The U4E alliance mobilizes faith leaders, influencers and scholars to emphasize the strategic importance of climate action within Islamic finance and empower Muslim voices to demand robust climate initiatives.
2. Well-being for All: Greenpeace MENA’s Wellbeing Economy campaign aims to inspire policymakers and business leaders to adopt sustainable, transformative actions by challenging the dominant economic model that prioritizes profit over people and the environment. Advocating for green recovery, re-evaluation of fossil fuel subsidies, and renewable energy, the campaign promotes an economic system focused on justice and well-being.

b) Building the Movement: Greenpeace MENA, in collaboration with over 40 organisations, organises yearly Climate Justice Camps to empower young people from the Global South to shape climate decision-making. Every year, the camps bring together hundreds of participants from all over the world, with a focus on the Global South, to build strategies and advocate for global climate action.

c) Supporting Frontline Communities:  According to a Greenpeace report, air pollution is largely caused by burning fossil fuels and is responsible for around 4.5 million premature deaths annually.. Greenpeace MENA raises awareness of its severe impacts on public health and the environment, particularly in some of the world’s most polluted cities within the region.  Using tools like air quality monitors and scientific expertise, their  advocacy efforts have successfully mobilized public support and challenged powerful corporate interests responsible for pollution.  Sawt–the first regional environmental campaigning platform– is a tool and resource for citizens and communities to support them in publishing petitions, plan and discuss collective issues, organize events and actions, and learn from the experiences of other campaigns.