Greenpeace is a non-governmental[3] environmental organization with offices in over 40 countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.[4] Founded by Canadian and US ex-pat environmental activists in 1971, Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity"[5] and focuses its campaigning on worldwide issues such as climate change, deforestation, overfishing, commercial whaling, genetic engineering, and anti-nuclear issues. It uses direct action, lobbying, research, and ecotage[6] to achieve its goals. The global organization does not accept funding from governments, corporations, or political parties, relying on 2.9 million individual supporters and foundation grants.[7][8] Greenpeace has a general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council[9] and is a founding member[10] of the INGO Accountability Charter; an international non-governmental organization that intends to foster accountability and transparency of non-governmental organizations.

Greenpeace is known for its direct actions and has been described as the most visible environmental organization in the world.[11][12] Greenpeace has raised environmental issues to public knowledge,[13][14][15] and influenced both the private and the public sector.[16][17] Greenpeace has also been a source of controversy;[18] its motives and methods (some of the latter being illegal) have received criticism,[19][20] including an open letter from more than 100 Nobel laureates urging Greenpeace to end its campaign against genetically modified organisms (GMOs).[21] The organization's direct actions have sparked legal actions against Greenpeace activists,[22][23] such as fines and suspended sentences for destroying a test plot of genetically modified wheat[24][25][26] and damaging the Nazca Lines, a UN World Heritage site in Peru.