Controversial climate group facing bankruptcy, how did it get here?

One of the leading global environmental networks has been drained of hundreds of millions over the years as a result of several lawsuits filed against their involvement in anti-oil protests.

Greenpeace, an international environmentalist group, has been at the center of several highly controversial environmental cases over the years and has been accused of hiring protesters and rioters to advance their cause. 

Most recently, Greenpeace was found liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages resulting from a pipeline protest. The group recently said that such a ruling could "shut down Greenpeace USA."

Here are some of the top cases that got Greenpeace to the dire straits it is in right now. 

1. Greenpeace hit with $660 million fine for pipeline protest

More than 800 people were arrested in 2016 during a monthslong protest, led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, opposing construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), an oil pipeline that runs from North Dakota to Illinois. 

JURY FINDS GREENPEACE LIABLE, ORDERED TO PAY HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OVER DAKOTA ACCESS OIL PIPELINE PROTESTS

Protesters demonstrating against the expansion of the Dakota Access Pipeline wade in cold creek waters confronting local police, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, on Nov. 2, 2016. (John L. Mone)

Energy Transfer, the developer of the pipeline, sued Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace International for $300 million on claims the climate groups orchestrated the protests by providing resources to the activists and, therefore, were liable for the expenses that resulted from construction being postponed. 

In March 2025, a North Dakota jury found Greenpeace liable for about $660 million resulting from the protest.

GREENPEACE VOWS MORE LEGAL ACTION AFTER GETTING HIT WITH $660M RULING THAT WOULD ‘SHUT DOWN' ORGANIZATION

"Our lawsuit is about recovering damages for the harm Greenpeace caused our company. It is not about free speech. Their organizing, funding, and encouraging the unlawful destruction of property and the dissemination of misinformation goes well beyond the exercise of free speech. We look forward to proving our case, and we trust the North Dakota legal system to do that."

The weekslong Morton County trial, which began in late February, heard testimony that claimed that Greenpeace not only trained the DAPL protesters, but purchased supplies to aid their resistance. 

Greenpeace activist Yeb Sa?o from the Philippines holds aloft a flag on a small boat after attempting to board a Shell oil platform being transported by the White Marlin ship on Jan. 31, 2023 in the Atlantic Ocean north of Gran Canaria, Spain. (Handout)

Greenpeace described the battle as "one of the most consequential free speech cases in recent history."

2. Pirate-style protest leads to another massive fine

Greenpeace settled a lawsuit with Shell after four individuals affiliated with the group boarded and occupied a Shell oil company vessel for two weeks in 2023.  

The activists "unlawfully scaled" a moving vessel in the North Sea while carrying a banner reading "Stop Drilling. Start Paying." 

Because of this incident, Greenpeace was ordered to make a payment of 300k pounds to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, and the group was barred from going within 500 meters of a Shell platform in the North Sea.

An activist of the environmental NGO Greenpeace climbs to take part in an action on a Shell platform, on the way to the North Sea, to expand an existing oil and gas field, off the coast of Cherbourg, northwestern France, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Lou Benoist)

3. ‘People vs. the Arctic' lawsuit falls flat

In 2020, the Norwegian Supreme Court ruled against Greenpeace's attempt to block new oil exploration in the country. 

Greenpeace was joined by Young Friends of the Earth Norway in a 2016 lawsuit filed against the Norwegian Government after several new oil and gas leases were granted in the Balian Sea. 

The lawsuit, known as "People vs. the Arctic," was the first case to challenge the country's constitution on environmental rights. The environmental groups claimed that the Arctic drilling would violate Section 112 of the Norwegian Constitution, which states that everyone has the right to a healthy environment. 

Despite extensive appeals, Greenpeace failed to secure a single victory in the Norwegian court system, which found at every level that the government in that they did not violate the country's constitution.

DARK MONEY FUND POURED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO ECO ACTIVIST GROUPS BLOCKING HIGHWAYS, DESTROYING FAMOUS ART

Greenpeace has been involved in several high-profile environmental cases over the years. (Getty Images)

4. Another environmental group bites the dust??

Commenting on the North Dakota ruling, a representative for Energy Transfer told Fox News Digital it was "very pleased that Greenpeace has been held accountable for their actions against us and that the jury recognized these were not law-abiding, peaceful protests as Greenpeace tried to claim." 

The representative said their victory was shared with the local native tribe and people throughout North Dakota who "had to live through the daily harassment and disruptions caused by the protesters who were funded and trained by Greenpeace." 

"It is also a win for all law-abiding Americans who understand the difference between the right to free speech and breaking the law," said the representative, adding, "that Greenpeace has been held responsible is a win for all of us."

Sushma Raman, a representative for Greenpeace USA, told Fox News Digital that the group will be appealing the decision, saying, "we will not back down from this fight, and we will not be silenced." 

GREENPEACE CO-FOUNDER: NO SCIENTIFIC PROOF HUMANS ARE DOMINANT CAUSE OF WARMING CLIMATE

Greenpeace activists on the roof of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's house in Richmond, North Yorkshire after covering it in black fabric in protest at his backing for the expansion of North Sea oil and gas drilling. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)

Raman said that Energy Transfer "knows we don’t have $660 million" and claimed "they want our silence, not our money." 

"This case should alarm everyone, no matter their political inclinations," she said. "It’s part of a renewed push by corporations to weaponize our courts to silence dissent. We should all be concerned about the future of the First Amendment, and lawsuits like this aimed at destroying our rights to peaceful protest and free speech." 

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A representative for Greenpeace International pointed out to Fox News Digital that the ruling does not impact Greenpeace's 24 other national and regional organizations. The representative said these groups will "continue functioning as normal even in the worst case scenario." 

The representative also pointed out that Greenpeace is counter-suing Energy Transfer in a Netherlands court to recover all fines lost in the North Dakota case.