The cinematic film, titled MoneyTrees, takes the form of a music video set to a a specially composed rap soundtrack by GreedyBoy, aka Joseph Wills. It features a set of bankers in a frenzy as they cut down trees, while a selection of government officials and finance execs look the other way.

It is launched to mark International Biodiversity Day, and forms part of Greenpeace’s ongoing campaign to urge governments to stop the funding of nature destruction and ensure money goes towards protecting and restoring our ecosystems.

Greenpeace’s spot is the latest in a series of ads and films relating to climate change that have shone a light on the problematic role that banks, businesses and governments play. It follows recent films from Channel 4 and Make My Money Matter which also use anarchic humour to get their message across.

“Nature is for our future, it is not for corporate profit,” says Syahrul Fitra of Greenpeace Southeast Asia. “Banks and corporations have proven many times that they can’t regulate themselves. Therefore governments need to prioritise people over profit with strong nature laws and proper regulation of the banks and financial institutions that profit from pushing this planet to a point of no return.”

MoneyTrees sees Greenpeace reunited with Sil van der Woerd and Jorik Dozy of Studio Birthplace, who it previously worked with on a commercial to raise awareness of the UK’s plastic waste.

For this new ad, the directors stress that no trees were destroyed in its creation. “Our collaboration with Greenpeace draws on the power of art and activism to drive positive change. In portraying the forest destruction caused by bankers and corporations, it was crucial to us that no trees were harmed during filming. Luckily we found a location that featured two giant trees that had recently been floored by a storm, creating a natural ‘destruction’ site.”

studiobirthplace.com