Greenpeace Faces Bankruptcy After Landmark $667 Million Judgement

On 19 March 2025, a jury in Mandan, N.D., found the environmental non-profit Greenpeace liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to the Texas-based pipeline company Energy Transfer. This decision comes at the end of years of litigation, three weeks of testimony, and two days of deliberations, and could leave Greenpeace facing $667 million in claimed and punitive damages.

The lawsuit named Greenpeace Inc., which is U.S.-based and organizes protests and campaigns; Greenpeace Fund, which awards environmental grants and provides fundraising; and Amsterdam-based Greenpeace International, which is the “mothership” for 25 Greenpeace groups around the world. The jury found that Greenpeace Inc. was liable for $404 million in damages in the case, with Greenpeace Fund and Greenpeace International liable for the remainder.

The verdict could cause Greenpeace Inc. to shut down its American operations. Deepa Padmanabha, senior legal advisor for Greenpeace USA contends the verdict will have drastic consequences for environmental activism and free speech in the U.S. “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. Greenpeace will continue to do its part to fight for the protection of these fundamental rights for everyone,” said Padmanabha in a statement to 3E.