The US-Israel war on Iran is shattering lives across Iran and the wider region. Civilians pay first and hardest — through fear, displacement, destroyed infrastructure, and deepening environmental harm. Greenpeace calls for an immediate end to the violence and a return to diplomacy. As we push for that, we also need to understand the systems that keep the conflict running.

Bottled water. Baby formula. Food. Shoes. Lipstick. The cost of everyday goods is spiking as a result of the conflict in Iran. This isn’t a coincidence; it’s oil. It’s plastic. 

When war disrupts oil, it doesn’t just hit us at the pump. It hits the grocery aisle, the pharmacy, and the toy store. Because nearly everything we buy, from shampoo to strawberries, is made from petrochemicals, wrapped in plastic, or both. 

The crisis in Iran reveals a painful truth: our supply chain has a plastics problem, and we’ll keep paying for it until we break free.

Plastics run on oil

Ninety-nine percent of plastic is made from fossil fuels. Crude oil is refined into petrochemicals like naphtha, cracked into ethylene and propylene, and polymerised into the resins that become the bottle in your hand, the bag carrying your chips, and the fabric in your shirt. Plastic isn’t just dependent on oil. Plastic is oil. 

Every bottle, bag, and sneaker runs on the same supply chain and the same geopolitical tensions.

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas flows, according to IEA, is the passageway for reported US $20 to US $25 billion worth of petrochemical products every year. When that flow is disrupted, the building blocks of plastic become scarce. Prices climb. And supply chains shudder.

Prices for plastic resins have already surged by more than 30% in the past month.

Higher plastic costs ripple quickly through to consumers, compounding across every element of a product, from the materials inside to the packaging wrapped around it.

Already, the beauty industry is warning of price increases, and toymakers are sounding the alarm about Christmas as they reportedly face low-density polyethylene price hikes of up to 55%. The burden lands, as it always does, on the people who can least afford it.

Fossil fuel and petrochemical companies profit from war and price shocks

While people absorb the shock, fossil fuel and petrochemical industry profits are soaring. U.S. oil producers could see an additional US $63 billion in profit as crude oil climbs past US $100 a barrel, according to energy research company Rystad. Russia’s oil income doubled to US $9 billion in April alone, according to Reuters calculations. According to the Financial Times, TotalEnergies made more than US $1 billion in profit after buying up large quantities of oil as the conflict began — their profits are soaring even as the conflict has taken 15% of its operations offline. Oil executives have pocketed US $1.4 billion selling stock amid the conflict, according to an analysis of insider-transaction disclosures from analytics firm VerityData.

When the ceasefire was announced, Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies stocks reportedly fell between 6% and 8% in a single day — the EU region’s biggest one-day fall all year. 

We’ve been here before. In 2022, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted energy markets, Big Oil reportedly recorded its biggest year in history — more than doubling its profits. 

Geopolitical crisis has become a profit mechanism for an industry that reportedly spends hundreds of millions lobbying to keep us dependent on it. Our governments aren’t just complicit, they are locking us in — funneling billions into the fossil fuel industry, which pours it right back into their campaigns. 

No one should profit off war. But again and again, fossil fuel interests turn crisis into opportunity, pushing deregulation and deepening dependence while communities are left to live with the consequences.

Winners and losers: Which countries are most exposed to petrochemical disruption

The United States, Saudi Arabia, and Russia account for more than 40% of the world’s oil supply, and as the world’s largest producer, the US is positioned to gain the most. A point Donald Trump made sure to say out loud.

Europe, too, is being squeezed by rising feedstock prices. Most exposed, however, are Japan, South Korea, India, and much of Asia — nations heavily dependent on imported crude and petrochemical feedstocks. As much as 70% of Asia’s naphtha reportedly passed through the Strait of Hormuz last year. South Korea is so reliant on naphtha, a critical building block for plastics, that many refer to it as the “rice of the petrochemical industry.” Recognizing this vulnerability, President Lee Jae Myung has called for prioritizing a plastics-free economy alongside his calls for peace.

At the very bottom of the chain — everywhere, in every country — are the people, absorbing every ripple.

How reuse and renewable energy can build resilience

This is the third major shock in five years to tear through the fossil-fuelled supply chain: COVID, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and now this. Each crisis points to the same conclusion: a future less dependent on fossil fuels is not only better for the planet but also more stable, secure, and resilient to the disruptions we face today.

Every piece of plastic ties us to a volatile, extractive system — one that leaves us exposed to price shocks, pollution, and conflict. 

Just as renewables break our dependence on the fossil fuels that power our grid, reuse breaks our dependence on the oil that stocks our grocery aisles. Both provide supply chain stability, local resilience, and independence from whoever controls the chokepoint.

The barrier is not capability. It is political will and investment – both of which are currently being directed at an enormous scale in exactly the wrong direction.

Why a Global Plastics Treaty matters now more than ever 

With plastic production poised to become the single largest driver of growth in global oil demand, a binding Global Plastics Treaty that cuts plastic production would be a turning point, not just for oceans and public health, but for economic security, geopolitical stability, and the resilience of the systems we all depend on. 

As long as corporations keep us hooked on plastic, we remain chained to oil. And as long as we’re addicted to oil, we remain exposed to conflict, price shocks, and to the decisions made by whoever controls the supply.

We’ve paid for this system in prices, pollution, and war. We can stay locked in a cycle of crisis, or break free. Reuse systems, renewable energy, and local resilience aren’t a distant dream. They’re ready. And so are we.

Let’s end the age of plastic!

Ask world leaders to support Global Plastic Treaty so that we can finally turn off the tap and end the age of plastic.

Take action

Lindsey Jurca is a senior plastics campaigner from Greenpeace USA.

Berlin, Germany – Governments meeting at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, including Türkiye as this year’s UN climate talks president, must use the global disruption in fossil fuel supplies from the war on Iran as an accelerator for a just transition away from fossil fuels.

Addressing delegates in Berlin on Tuesday, Murat Kurum, Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change and COP31 President Designate, recognised the current crisis has shown that fossil fuels do not guarantee energy security.

Emel Türker Alpay, Climate and Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace Türkiye said:

“Minister Kurum is 100% correct: dependency on oil and gas is a structural liability and the time has come to phase them out. As COP president, it’s mission critical for Türkiye to help operationalise and accelerate the implementation of the just transition away from fossil fuels at COP31. 

“Fossil fuel dependence is destabilising the climate and exposing countries to volatile global markets, conflict and disruption. But a just transition is the opportunity to transform energy, transport, industrial and other systems so they are more secure and affordable.

“As COP31 host, Türkiye needs to lead from the front and demonstrate its commitment, starting with the cancellation of the coal-fired power plant project currently planned in Türkiye. The two additional units  to Afşin-Elbistan A Coal Power Plant is the only new coal power plant project in Türkiye and one of five projects in the OECD. Cancellation of these two additional units would also demonstrate Türkiye’s leadership in this process.”

Earlier, Greenpeace Germany activists used kayaks to protest against the use of fossil fuels, displaying a floating banner on the water at the Westhafen Event & Convention Center in Berlin that said: ‘BREAK FREE FROM FOSSIL FUELS’. The floating banner and surrounding kayaks formed the shape of the sun. The 17th Petersberg Climate Dialogue is an international ministerial meeting to help prepare for the annual UN climate talks.

Martin Kaiser, Executive Director at Greenpeace Germany said:

“German Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces a credibility gap at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue. While he has the opportunity to lead Europe toward a nature-compatible transition in energy and mobility, his government’s domestic actions – such as backtracking on the combustion engine ban, blocking speed limits and maintaining Germany’s reliance on fossil fuel heating – contradict these goals.

“Despite rising fuel prices and the urgent need to break free from dependencies on autocratic leaders, Germany continues to stall on renewables. To succeed, the summit must strengthen international alliances focused on the economic advantages of wind and solar, ensuring a definitive shift away from fossil fuels.”

ENDS

Photos available in the Greenpeace Media Library

Contact:

Aaron Gray-Block, Greenpeace International, Climate Politics Communications Manager, aaron.gray-block@greenpeace.org

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org

I’m deeply familiar with activist burnout. After five  years working as an environmental journalist in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, I had reached a point of mental and emotional exhaustion. Along my recovery journey, which took me many years, I’ve finally learned the basics: caring for myself is more important than the mission I’ve embraced. More important? Yes. Because if we allow ourselves to become completely broken, we can no longer be the activists we want to be in the first place. 

The world seems to be upside down many times a month – or even, a week or, a day! Directly and indirectly, we are all being impacted by environmental destruction, and human rights abuses. 

If you are one of those who dare to act, then it has not been easy for you – having to carry on while facing so many threats at the same time requires another set of skills, ones that will enable us to care for our mental health while we do our best for the world we love.

Here’s 9 ways I was able to recover and prevent future burnout:

1. Learn from ancestral wisdom

Learning from Indigenous Peoples helped me to go deeper in my connection with nature, to expand my worldview, and to learn more about what is important for us to do to protect the Earth.

2. Participate in collective experiences with like-minded people

I joined workshops and ceremonies with other activists, where we could talk openly about how we were feeling, our vision for a better future and strategies to get there. Sharing with like minded groups was nurturing and helped put us back on track with an increased sense of hope and joy.

3. Get support from healers, coaches and therapists

The recovery was a journey of self-discovery where I learned a lot about boundaries, recognising when my body tells me to take a deep breath and to relax my mind, so I could be in touch again with the beautiful possibility of reinventing myself to never stop being an activist – here I am.

4. Establish a rhythm of studying 

I studied things that helped me to find ways of action focused on love, education and inspiration, like Deep Ecology, The Work that Reconnects, Systems Thinking, Non-Violent Communication, Delicate Activism and more.

5. Ask for advice from experienced people 

I started sharing my plans, achievements and fears with teachers that had spent their entire lives as activists: Stephan Harding, Joanna Macy, Satish Kumar, Antonio Donato Nobre, and more. Stephan would tell me: “Remember to balance emotion and intuition with thinking and logic in your work.” Joanna’s advice: “Are you in distress? Use it!” taught me to see this emotion as part of my power to change things. Satish’s words : “Create your own way”, emboldened me to trust my creativity to find new ways of being an environmentalist while Antonio’s: “You don’t have to live in the Amazon to protect it” was liberating.

6. Talk with activists friends

It’s important to have people around you who could truly understand each other’s experience. When things got hard or great again, we weren’t alone.

7. Take care of my health in systemic ways

Body, mind, emotions, soul – I became more attentive to my health as a whole. I eat well, meditate, have a therapist, spiritual practice and exercise.

8. Make nature my ally

Being in nature is something that has helped me countless times to reorganise myself and my work, bringing me back over and over again to a state of peace, relaxation, and wellbeing.

9. Learn from elders to never stop dreaming

The vision for a better future, the reality we know is possible – one of peace and justice for all is a great motivation to continue on the path of our active hope, even if a burnout meets us along the way.

Here are some other resources:

• Coping with climate grief: advice from an environmental psychologist
• Climate anxiety: 21 resources to energise you into action
• The ties that bind us, and move us forward

Take care. Save this post. 

Your activism needs you well.

Karina Miotto is a Content Editor with Greenpeace International.

This week at Greenpeace we performed with Swiss artist Athena on the Morteratsch Glacier, joined the Global Summud Flotilla and protested against fossil fuels, destructive fishing, for increased safety in Chornobyl and more. Here’s a few of our favourite images from Greenpeace work around the world.

Switzerland – Athena hiked up to the Morteratsch Glacier in the Upper Engadine, in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, with a four-piece ensemble. She performed her latest song, “Collide”, in one of the glacier’s breathtaking caves.

Mediterranean Sea – The Arctic Sunrise joined the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF); sailing alongside more than seventy vessels and over a thousand participants who seek to directly challenge Israel’s ongoing blockade of aid to Gaza.

Germany – As part of the ‘Schools for Earth’ project – a collaboration between Greenpeace Germany and the Lower Saxony Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs.

Pupils, teachers and school leaders from the six schools in Lower Saxony gathered in Hannover for a networking event.

Atlantic Ocean – Greenpeace activists held up a banner in protest against destructive fishing practices by Spanish longliner Naboeiro operating in the Canary Guinea Convergence Zone.

Amsterdam – Greenpeace International staff and supporters gathered outside the Amsterdam District Court to spell out the message “facing down bullies” to mark a hearing in Greenpeace International’s anti-SLAPP lawsuit against fossil fuel pipeline company Energy Transfer filed in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Ukraine – Ahead of the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl reactor disaster (26. April 1986), Greenpeace activists protested in front of the nuclear ruin, calling for stronger support for Ukraine in securing the accident site.

The New Safe Confinement over the Sarcophagus and damaged reactor, severely impacted by a Russian drone attack, can no longer reliably fulfill its function.

Finland – Greenpeace and Forest Movement activists patrol valuable natural forests in Northern Finland. The aim is to prevent logging before they start, and if needed, to stop the logging.

Greenpeace has been a pioneer of photo activism for more than 50 years, and remains committed to bearing witness and exposing environmental injustice through the images we capture.

To see more Greenpeace photos and videos, visit our Media Library.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Greenpeace International’s landmark anti-SLAPP lawsuit against Energy Transfer took another step forward in the Amsterdam District Court, today. The hearing reviewed the pipeline company’s latest attempt to avoid accountability under Dutch law and the European Union’s anti-SLAPP directive for back-to-back abusive lawsuits filed in the US.[1] Netherlands-based Greenpeace International is seeking legal recognition that Energy Transfer has acted unlawfully as well as relief from the harm that has resulted. The Court said it would make a decision by 3 June 2026 on Energy Transfer’s plea for dismissal or pause of the anti-SLAPP lawsuit.[2]  

Mads Christensen, Greenpeace International, Executive Director said: “Energy Transfer cannot hide from justice — no matter how hard they try. Greenpeace International is holding this Big Oil bully accountable under Dutch and EU law for repeated attempts at silencing our free speech. We will continue to resist all forms of intimidation and believe Energy Transfer will have to answer for its actions here in the Netherlands.”

“With the world’s continued dependence on fossil fuels wreaking havoc around the globe, Greenpeace International’s anti-SLAPP landmark case against Energy Transfer is bigger than us: This is about stopping corporations from weaponising the courts against anyone who dares to speak out for the public good.” 

Energy Transfer’s back-to-back lawsuits against Greenpeace International and the Greenpeace organisations in the US (Greenpeace Inc. and Greenpeace Fund) remain blatant attempts to silence free speech, erase Indigenous leadership of the Standing Rock movement, and punish solidarity with the ongoing, peaceful resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline.[3] These are clear-cut examples of SLAPPs — lawsuits attempting to bury nonprofits and activists in legal fees and ultimately silence dissent. 

Daniel Simons, Senior Legal Counsel Strategic Defense, Greenpeace International said: “Energy Transfer continues attempting to evade accountability because it knows it cannot justify its repeated abusive lawsuits. We feel confident the court will allow Greenpeace International’s anti-SLAPP case to proceed on the merits and that Energy Transfer will face justice. We carry on this legal fight to remedy the harms suffered as a result of Energy Transfer’s intimidation tactics and to ensure corporate bullies know there is now a price to pay if you bring SLAPP suits.”

In parallel to the anti-SLAPP case in the Netherlands, Greenpeace International and Greenpeace organisations in the US continue the legal fight against Energy Transfer’s most recent SLAPP in North Dakota. Following a District Court judgment awarding US$345 million to Energy Transfer in February 2026, the Greenpeace defendants are seeking a new trial and, if necessary, will appeal the decision with the North Dakota Supreme Court.[4] 

The 16 April hearing in Greenpeace International’s landmark anti-SLAPP case against Big Oil bully Energy Transfer marks the beginning of a series of organising, marches, and activities around the world collectively called Facing Down Bullies.

ENDS

Photo and video can be found in the Greenpeace Media Library.

Notes 

1. Energy Transfer requested an anti-suit injunction from the North Dakota District Court in July 2025 looking for protection from Greenpeace International’s anti-SLAPP lawsuit in the Netherlands. In September 2025, the North Dakota District Court denied the request. Energy Transfer subsequently appealed that decision to the North Dakota Supreme Court, which has not yet issued a decision. 
2. Energy Transfer has appeared in the anti-SLAPP case, represented by Dutch counsel, and has lodged a preliminary plea, seeking the dismissal of the case arguing that the Amsterdam District Court lacks jurisdiction, and in the alternative, asking for a stay (suspension) of the proceedings until the final outcome of the case in North Dakota. Greenpeace International has lodged its reply. 
3. Energy Transfer’s first lawsuit was filed in federal court in 2017 under the RICO Act – the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a US federal statute designed to prosecute mob activity. The case was dismissed in 2019, with the judge stating the evidence fell “far short” of what was needed to establish a RICO enterprise. The federal court did not decide on Energy Transfer’s claims based on state law, so Energy Transfer promptly filed a new case in a North Dakota state court with these and other state law claims.
4. Greenpeace defendants file motion for new trial in North Dakota court.

Contact: 

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org

Join the Greenpeace SLAPP Trial WhatsApp Group for our latest updates

It’s time for facing down bullies. 

When we look at the state of the world, we see a pattern that cannot be ignored: Rights and freedoms are under threat from corporations and from autocrats. People and organisations are targeted for telling the truth, for solidarity, and for defending their communities from corporate extractivism.

People around the world are tired of billionaires and corporate polluters behaving like the law does not apply to them.

Facing down a Big Oil bully in court

Greenpeace International faces Big Oil bully Energy Transfer at the Amsterdam  court on 16 April as part of our landmark anti-SLAPP case to pursue justice in our home territory under Dutch and EU law. 

Energy Transfer has been waging abusive lawsuits against Greenpeace International and Greenpeace in the US for nearly a decade. In February, a North Dakota District Court awarded the US-based pipeline company US$345 million in damages. These SLAPPs are blatant attempts to silence free speech, erase Indigenous leadership of the Standing Rock movement, and punish solidarity with peaceful resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. 

They want us — and all climate activists — to be scared by their corporate intimidation tactics. But their tactics won’t succeed. We have already filed a motion for a new trial in the US and will, if necessary, appeal. 

Energy Transfer is desperate to avoid this case. Of course they are. Bullies always think they can get away with anything.

Why this anti-SLAPP case matters for activists everywhere

This landmark anti-SLAPP lawsuit – invoking the European Union’s new directive for the first time – sends a clear message to every bully, billionaire, and corporate polluter: your era of intimidation is over, and your tactics of fear will no longer work.

And it also sends a message to our allies: that it is time to resist. We know we are strongest together, and we know we can win this legal fight.

At the end of the day, this case is about a simple, undeniable truth: that power belongs to the people. It cannot be hijacked by bullies — and it certainly cannot be bought by oligarchs.

We are shining a light on the global threat of SLAPPs.

We will make sure this bully understands that its intimidation attempts are failing.

And we want any corporations thinking of using a lawsuit as a weapon to know these tactics will  backfire.

We stand firm. We stand together. And we will not be silenced.

Resist Corporate Intimidation

Send a message to all corporate bullies that you’re part of a growing movement resisting corporate intimidation.

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