Our history

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For more than five decades, Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) has continuously fought for environmental, social, economic, gender and political justice, by supporting popular, grassroots and community-led struggles and processes of resistance and transformation. Our essence is rooted in collective resistance, human rights and internationalist solidarity. These values continue to shape our work to achieve system change, climate, economic, social, gender and racial justice, and people-powered solutions. 

1971 — The birth of a global movement 

FoEI began in 1971 when environmental organisations from  France, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America came together to collaborate on shared environmental challenges like nuclear energy and whaling. Their annual gatherings rapidly grew into a formal global federation rooted in grassroots activism.  

Building international cooperation (1980s–1990s) 

Through the 1980s and 1990s, FoEI expanded steadily: 

  • By 1983, the federation had grown to include 25 member organisations and elected an Executive Committee to guide its work.  
  • In 1986, the federation held its first Global South hosted Annual General Meeting in Malaysia, marking a milestone in global inclusivity.  
  • In 1994, FoEI adopted its first shared strategic plan to articulate common principles and goals that further strengthened international cooperation.  

 

Towards strategic global action (Early 2000s) 

In 2010, after a broad and inclusive development process, FoEI adopted a strategic action plan that continues to guide its work. This plan prioritises justice for all, resistance to corporate power and neoliberalism, and solidarity between movements and communities. 

Within this framework, FoEI and its member groups continued to campaign locally, nationally and globally to protect the environment and defend human rights. Together, the federation is united in a shared belief that sustainable, equitable societies require strong grassroots activism, movement building and international solidarity. 

Over five decades, FoEI’s work has evolved in response to deepening global systemic crises, shaping the federation into what it is today. 

Today: Building power for System Change  

In 2023, FoEI published Pathways to System Change, a blueprint that outlines the federation’s vision and political framework. Pathways to System Change reflects how FoEI has sharpened its focus on system change to address the root causes of the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, inequality and human rights violations.  

Today, FoEI is the world's largest grassroots environmental federation of over 70 national member groups working with grassroots groups and social movements to confront the interconnected climate, biodiversity, economic and social crises shaping our world. With member organisations across all regions, and building on decades of grassroots activism and experience, FoEI promotes climate justice, food sovereignty, gender justice, economic justice, protection of forests and biodiversity and democratic control of the commons, and affirms that lasting solutions come from community-led action, international solidarity and the dismantling of corporate power as well as all forms of oppression. 

 

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