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Friends of the Earth

International network of environmental organizations

  • 5 min read
  • 4 chapters

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FoEI currently has a secretariat, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns. The executive committee of elected representatives from national groups sets policy and oversees the work of the secretariat. In 2016, Uruguayan activist Karin Nansen was elected to serve as chair of the organization. Sri Lankan activist Hemantha Withanage has served as chair of FoEI since 2021.

Campaign issues

Friends of the Earth International is an international membership organisation, with members spread across the world. Its advocacy programs focus on environmental, economic and social issues, highlighting their political and human rights contexts.

As per its website, the current campaign priorities of Friends of the Earth International are: economic justice and resisting neoliberalism; forests and biodiversity; food sovereignty; and climate justice and energy. The campaign priorities of FOEI are set at its bi-annual general meeting. Additionally, FOEI also plans campaigns in other fields, such as waste and overconsumption, international financial institutions, ecological debt, mining and extractive industries, and opposition to nuclear power. FOEI has campaigned for the closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in California. FOEI also supports campaigns from the regions or member groups, such as the one on the consumption and intensive production of meat (Meat Atlas) by Friends of the Earth Europe.

FOEI claims that it has been successful as it has eliminated billions in taxpayer subsidies to corporate polluters, reformed the World Bank to address environmental and human rights concerns, pushed the debate on global warming to pressure the U.S. and U.K. to attempt the best legislation possible, stopped more than 150 destructive dams and water projects worldwide, pressed and won landmark regulations of strip mines and oil tankers and banned international whaling. Its critics claim that the organization tries only to obtain media attention (as by releasing the song "Love Song to the Earth"), but does not stay with locals to actually solve complicated problems, and that it prevents development in developing countries. They have also been critical of its policy to accept high levels of funding from companies and charities related to oil and gas.

One of Friends of the Earth's most recent campaigns and legal battles was the "Shell Case", led by Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands). In 2021, a court in the Netherlands ruled in a landmark case that the oil giant Shell must reduce its emissions in 2030 by 45% compared to 2019 levels. This was the first time that a company had been legally obliged to align its policies with the Paris Agreement. This was later overturned in November 2024.

In January 2025 when UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans to take on NIMBYs who block major infrastructure projects, such as nuclear power, roads, railway and wind farms, Friends of the Earth criticized Starmer, saying he was scapegoating people with "valid concerns about a project's impact".

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