Released tonight by Federal Treasurer, Scott Morrison, the 2017 Budget has no credible measures to battle global warming and fails to address the serious issue of corporate tax avoidance by the country’s largest polluters.

“At a time when companies like Chevron have been revealed to pay zero tax this government continues to put the interests of the fossil fuel industry ahead of the Australian people,” Greenpeace campaigner Nikola Casule said.

“It’s time for our leaders to look to the future and invest in renewable energy solutions instead of propping up yesterday’s industries in risky and polluting fossil fuel ventures.

“Despite the age of coal coming to a close Turnbull ministers continue to talk up Adani’s Carmichael mega-mine.

“If we’re to address climate change and stop disasters like the recent mass coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef we need to stop burning the coal we have now. Not dig up more.

“While the government cuts $2.8 billion from universities and continue to drastically reduce foreign aid it is still considering giving $1 billion to the Carmichael coal mine - a disastrous project that threatens the Great Barrier Reef.”

For interviews contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

New data released today by Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, shows record-breaking water temperatures have caused bleaching to over 1500 kilometres of coral over the last two summers.

“This second round of bleaching shows that we are running out of time to address climate change and protect one of Australia’s natural wonders,” Greenpeace campaigner Sebastien Blavier said.

“Last year we saw catastrophic bleaching on the northern parts of the Reef and this year the damage has moved further south.

“But instead of taking action to protect the Reef the government are considering funnelling almost $1 billion of taxpayers’ money to help fund the Carmichael mega-mine right next door.

“The Government must take action on the root cause of coral bleaching - and that is climate change, fueled by mining and burning fossil fuels like coal.”

Professor Hughes and his team collected data on the Reef by conducting aerial and below water surveys of about 800 separate reefs.

Unlike his 2016 survey, which found the bleaching to be more highly concentrated on the northernmost parts of the Reef, this year the worst of the damage has occurred in popular tourist areas further south between Townsville and Cairns.

“Almost 70,000 people rely on the Reef for their livelihoods, and the Reef is now in danger thanks to our Government’s inaction on climate change,” Blavier said.  

“Instead of supporting the dying coal industry our leaders must commit to keep taxpayers’ money out of the Carmichael mine.”

In 2015, UNESCO placed the Great Barrier Reef on its watchlist due to concerns about the Australian Government’s management of the World Heritage Area.

Coral bleaching occurs when the water temperature is too warm. This increase in temperature causes the coral to expel the algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues, which then takes on a bleached white appearance.

If water temperatures do not return to normal within six to eight weeks of the bleaching, the coral dies.

Notes to editors:

Photo and video can be accessed here, including drone footage of bleached coral: http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJJD68E1

Media contacts:

Simon Black, Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, mob: 0418 219 086, email: simon.black@greenpeace.org

Government representatives from the nearly 200 countries who are signed on to the Paris Agreement have gathered for high level talks in Bonn, Germany, this week at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

While countries like China and India have been calling for tighter rules on business groups, at a meeting on Tuesday, the Australian representative vigorously defended the right of fossil fuel companies, including ExxonMobil and Shell—two of the world’s biggest polluters—to participate in the negotiations.

Fossil fuel lobbyists have long had backdoor access to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) treaty and climate policy talks, effectively delaying, weakening and blocking progress for two decades. But unlike many other UN entities, no conflict of interest rules currently exist in the UNFCCC process.

“It is outrageous and disgusting to imagine representatives of the Australian government would defend such a flagrant conflict of interest. But it shows the kind of hold that fossil fuel companies have had on Australian politics for too long,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO, David Ritter.

“The national interest and the interests of the Australian people are not the same thing as the destructive vested interests of multinational fossil fuel companies.

“The Australian government should be calling for the same standards of propriety and fairness that we would ask of our own public service in Australia. Principles behind conflict of interest rules are well-known and universal and we should be striving to uphold them.

“It’s particularly egregious after having a reputation for going slow in international climate negotiations, that the Australian representatives would stoop to the new level of actively promoting the ongoing participation of vested interests determined to hold up progress,” Mr Ritter said.

A new report by Corporate Accountability International on the role of lobbyists at the UNFCCC, “Inside Job: Big Polluters’ lobbyists on the inside at the UNFCCC” was released in the lead up to the talks last week, on 1 May 2017. The reports examines six of the more than 270 business industry NGOs currently admitted to the climate talks, including the Business Council of Australia: https://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/insidejob

For interviews, contact:

Rachael Vincent, Media Campaigner Greenpeace Australia Pacific
Tel 02 9263 0354 Mob 0413 993 316

The reality is that current efforts fall far short of what is required to protect our most treasured natural wonder.

“A short snorkel in an undamaged area of the Reef does nothing to show the true picture of the lack of effort by Government to - as Julie Bishop says - “conserve, preserve and manage the Reef,”” said Greenpeace Campaigner, Alix Foster Vander Elst.

“In fact, it masks the sad reality. Government inaction has already seen two thirds of the coral hit by back-to-back mass bleaching events.”

Ms Bishop has enlisted the support of optimistic marine biologists to tell the media that bleached coral can recover and rejuvenate “without any mass die-off.”

“But the sad fact is that while coral can recover from bleaching, the conditions need to be right … and conditions are not right. The longer it is stressed, the less likely coral is to recover,” said Ms Alix Foster Vander Elst

Recent reports by Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, show that record-breaking water temperatures have caused bleaching to over 1500km of coral over the last two summers, leaving only the southern third of the Reef unscathed. And it is widely acknowledged that already some 67% of corals have already died in the reef's worst-hit northern section.

The Reef is under very serious threat. But perhaps worst of all, the Government is actively contributing to exacerbating the greatest threat to the Reef: climate change.

“Just last week, the Foreign Minister’s own department sent an Australian diplomat to UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany, where he shamelessly argued for the inclusion of the fossil fuel lobby - including two of the world’s biggest carbon polluters - in international climate negotiations,” said Ms Foster Vander Elst

“And the Government has continuously expressed its support for the proposed massive Carmichael mine in the Galilee valley, including a proposal to lend nearly $1bn of taxpayers’ money to the project, which will ship millions of tonnes of coal out through the Reef and directly impact its health by contributing to climate change,” Ms Foster Vander Elst said.

Bishop’s assertion that we are “leading the world in coral reef preservation and conservation” would be laughable if it weren’t so wrong. Australia’s Reef 2050 plan - which involves a $2bn commitment to improving the health of the reef over the next decade - falls lamentably short of what’s required.

Julie Bishop should direct our government to take her own advice and take realistic steps to “lift the local pressures on the reef”, and commit to a “concerted global effort” to prevent escalating climate change.

“The government should stop putting money into coal mines, commit to the Paris Agreement, take immediate action to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy which is booming internationally,” Ms Foster Vander Elst said.  

For interviews, contact:

Rachael Vincent, Media Campaigner Greenpeace Australia Pacific
Tel 02 9263 0354 Mob 0413 993 316

Editor’s notes:

For a truer picture of the state of the Great Barrier Reef, we recommend a look at these photos and videos, including drone footage of bleached coral off Port Douglas, only 60km north of Cairns, here: http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJJD68E1

Footnotes: 

1. As reported by the Courier Mail today [here]

2. “Two-thirds of the corals in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef have died in the reef’s worst-ever bleaching event, according to our latest underwater surveys,” : 'How much coral has died in the Great Barrier Reef’s worst bleaching event?', 29 November 2016, The Conversation [here]

The banner and its message ‘CommBank: Dump Coal! Invest in our Future’ faces directly into the CBA headquarters at 201 Sussex St, above one of Sydney’s busiest motorways, where the bank’s senior executives and CEO, Ian Narev, work.

Activists are also handing out pamphlets and engaging with CommBank staff and members of the public to let them know about the bank’s continuing support of fossil fuel projects including the Adani coal mine.

“Despite publicly committing to action on climate change, the Commonwealth Bank loaned a massive$3.886 billion to fossil fuel projects in 2016 - the most of any of the big four banks[1],” Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner Dr Nikola Čašule said.

“Greenpeace is calling on CommBank CEO, Ian Narev, and the members of the CommBank board to make good on their commitment to the environment and to follow the lead set by fellow big four bank Westpac by ruling out any involvement in new coal projects or the expansion of existing projects.”

Last week Westpac committed to not finance projects in any new thermal coal basins.

“In recent months we have seen yet another mass coral bleaching event threaten the destruction of large areas of the Great Barrier Reef due to the effects of global warming,” Čašule said.

“Commonwealth Bank can take the lead to prevent tragedies such as these and help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.”

Surveys conducted by Greenpeace found that an overwhelming 73 per cent of Commbank customers wanted their bank to not invest in companies or projects that harm the environment.

“CommBank CEO, Ian Narev, has reassured the Australian people that he was listening when they told him actions speak louder than words. Yet last year his bank lent more money to fossil fuels than any other Australian bank and continues to facilitate the construction of the Adani Carmichael mega-mine in Queensland,” Čašule said.

“Greenpeace is calling on Mr Narev to live up to his promise to support a transition to a low carbon economy not only in words but with action. The Commonwealth Bank needs to pledge to end its funding of new coal projects and commit to a credible plan to reduce its exposure to fossil fuels to zero.”

The action is part of an ongoing campaign by Greenpeace Australia Pacific around coal financing in Australia.

What: 70-square metre banner reading ‘CommBank: Dump Coal! Invest in our Future’ facing directly into the CBA headquarters
Where: Pedestrian bridge connecting CBD to Darling Harbour, 201 Sussex Street
When: From 6am

For interviews contact:
Simon Black, Senior Media Campaigner
Tel: 0418 219 086
Email: simon.black@greenpeace.org

CommBank was last week revealed to have continued a financial relationship with Adani Infrastructure in a transactional capacity despite publically ceasing their advisory role in 2015.

“Recent statements by CommBank are a deceptive attempt to reframe their continued facilitation of the Carmichael mega-mine as business as usual,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific campaigner Nikola Casule said.

“There is nothing ‘day-to-day’ about being the transactional bank for a $1.6 million payment to secure a water license for the largest, and most controversial, coal mine project in Australia today.”

“Their attempt to slip it past as just another money transfer is an insult to the thousands of their own customers who have sent their complaints about this issue directly to the bank and the millions of Australians who want the Great Barrier Reef protected from this disastrous coal mine.”

The Commonwealth Bank last week responded to a Greenpeace media release and reports about their relationship to the Adani mine in Queensland saying that their role had been “misrepresented and misinterpreted”.

“Ordinary transactional banking accounts [are] used by thousands of Australian businesses and consumers,” a statement on CommBank’s website reads[1].

“Transaction accounts allow people and organisations to make payments using their own money. They are vital for Australian businesses and consumers to handle their day-to-day affairs.

“A transaction account does not equate to business lending or project finance.“

Casule said the bank needed to wake up to the nature of their involvement with Adani’s Carmichael mine and move away from the toxic project and fossil fuel projects in general.

“Despite their attempts to wriggle away from the truth, CommBank have directly facilitated the construction of the Carmichael mine,” he said.

“They have proved that they are still Adani’s bank in Australia and they have contradicted their public commitment to take action to limit global warming to no more than two degrees.

“We again call on the Commonwealth Bank to make an immediate commitment to no longer financing new coal projects, including the proposed Carmichael coal mine.

“If they are really serious about creating a better future for Australia, as their advertising claims, now is the time to prove it.”

Notes for editors:

[1] https://www.commbank.com.au/guidance/newsroom/myth-busting-transaction-accounts-201705.html

For interviews contact:
Simon Black, Senior Media Campaigner
Tel: 0418 219 086
Email: simon.black@greenpeace.org

Leaked details [1] of the proposal this morning revealed Adani, the operator of the mine, would initially pay just $2 million a year in royalties when the $21 billion project was up and running.

This concession would mean they would sidestep paying anywhere up to $320 million in royalties to the Queensland community.

“This morning’s revelation that the Queensland Premier has sold out her own constituents is a disgrace,” Greenpeace campaigner Nikola Casule said.

“This arrangement is only the latest in a series of insults delivered by a government that seems to be putting the interests of big polluting fossil fuel companies before the community.

“It wasn’t enough simply to facilitate the waste of $1 billion of federal taxpayers money on the rail line for this project and to grant unlimited water access in one of the country’s most drought stricken areas.

“Now Premier Palaszczuk is taking hundreds of millions of dollars away from Queensland taxpayers and handing it over to a billionaire mining company at a time when we need to take urgent action on climate change to protect natural treasures like the Great Barrier Reef.

“During the election Palaszczuk promised there would be no taxpayer money funnelled into this project. This royalty holiday is a broken promise to the people who elected her and to the communities that rely on her to champion their interests.”

Greenpeace are calling on the Queensland government to immediately withdraw any plans which stop coal mines paying their fair share of royalties to the Australian public and to commit to keeping public money out of fossil fuels by opposing any funds for the Carmichael project via the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.

“This is money that could be used to fund any number of community projects from schools to hospitals to providing assistance to our farmers or aid to the victims of natural disasters like Cyclone Debbie,” Casule said.

“There are countless people and organisations more deserving of the money that should go to the people of Queensland than a billionaire mining company.”

It is reported the royalty rate will then increase after several years.

NOTES FOR EDITORS:
[1] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-18/queensland-government-gives-adani-royalties-holiday/8536560

For interviews contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority chairman, Russell Reichelt, today told a Senate Estimates Hearing that it is believed about 30 per cent of coral in the Reef's northern part died last year while initial observations suggest 20 per cent of coral, this time in the central area, died following this year’s event.

“It is unbelievably sad to hear that almost half of the Great Barrier Reef could have been killed during these last two bleaching events,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific Campaigner Alix Foster Vander Elst said.

“And worse still our government continue to do nothing to address the cause of the bleaching even as the Reef dies right in front of our eyes.

“I was on the Reef in the middle of the second bleaching event in March this year and seeing the reality of the destruction up close was devastating.

“People need to know that, despite last year’s catastrophic bleaching and unprecedented second year of damage, and today’s shocking news, the government is still considering funnelling almost $1 billion of taxpayers’ money to help fund the Carmichael mega-mine right next door.

“The Government must act now to protect what is left of our world-famous Great Barrier Reef by tackling the root cause of coral bleaching - climate change, fueled by mining and burning fossil fuels like coal.”

Coral bleaching occurs when the surrounding water is too warm, causing the corals to expel the algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues.

This makes the coral take on a completely white appearance. If water temperatures don’t return to normal within six to eight weeks of the bleaching, the coral dies.

NOTES FOR EDITORS:
[1] Photo and video of a Greenpeace visit to document Reef bleaching on the outer reefs of Port Douglas in March 2017 can be accessed here: http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJJD68E1

For interviews contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

The footage, shot on 17 March at the outer reefs off Port Douglas, shows the silent and high-speed destruction of one of the world's most beautiful and fragile ecosystems from below the water line and shot for the first time in close range UAV footage from above.

“I’ve seen previous bleaching on the Reef but nothing could have prepared me to see the reality of the destruction up close,” said Alix Foster Vander Elst, a campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

“The world needs to know what is happening to the largest living organism in the world. People need to know that while the Great Barrier Reef dies right in front of our eyes Australia’s government continues to funnel money into new coal mines.”

The footage  shows vast areas of coral in the late stages of bleaching or death with UAV footage capturing the distressed coral forests from above.

“What is most heartbreaking about this footage is that it shows a lot of the coral that managed to survive last year is now totally bleached and on its way to dying,” Foster Vander Elst said.

“Almost all of the coral we saw was dead or bleached.”

In 2015, UNESCO placed the Great Barrier Reef on its watchlist due to concerns about the Australian Government’s management of the World Heritage Area and this week a new report, Boom and Bust 2017: Tracking the Global Coal Plant Pipeline, showed a 62 per cent drop in new construction on coal plants as well as an increase in the retirement of existing plants[2].

However, despite two sequential years of coral bleaching on the Reef and the declining coal industry the Australian government is considering giving AU$1 billion (US$760 million) of taxpayers’ money to the biggest coal mine ever built in the country.

“If it gets built, the Carmichael mega-mine will be a climate bomb that endangers the Reef and mocks Australia’s commitments under the Paris climate agreement,” Foster Vander Elst said.

“The government should make a commitment to the Reef, and to the 67,000 people who rely on the Reef for their jobs, that no taxpayer money will be used to dig up the Galilee Basin.”

Coral bleaching occurs when the surrounding water is too warm, causing the corals to expel the algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues.

This makes the coral take on a completely white appearance. If water temperatures don’t return to normal within six to eight weeks of the bleaching, the coral dies. In 2016, 93 per cent of the corals of the Great Barrier Reef bleached and 22 per cent of the entire Reef died [1].

Notes to editors:          

Photo and video can be accessed here: http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJJD68E1

[1] Death rate of the entire reef as of June 2016,according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science

[2] http://www.greenpeace.org/india/Global/india/docs/BoomAndBust_2017_EMBARGO.pdf

Media contacts:

Simon Black, Greenpeace Senior Media, Campaigner, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, mob: 0418 219 086, email: simon.black@greenpeace.org

Greenpeace International Press Desk, pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org, phone: +31 (0) 20 718 2470 (available 24 hours)

"This week, Australia has truly shown its tireless commitment to selling out Pacific islanders.

If the Carmichael coal mine goes ahead, it would supply 2.3bn tonnes of coal to be burnt over the next 60 years, fuelling catastrophic climate change.

“Typically, in an attempt to remain being seen as a friend to the Pacific, and continue fending off Chinese advances, Australia’s Ambassador for Climate Change, Patrick Suckling, came to Fiji in January, with a completely opposing message.

Earlier this year, Mr Suckling said, “The purpose of my visit here is to talk to the Government and the business community on how Australia and Fiji can strongly work together on the damaging impacts of climate change.”

“Both countries take climate change very seriously. It is a serious concern to the region, and part of Australia's interest in climate change is that we support and work with the Pacific Island nations in terms of meeting the challenges of climate change,” he said.

“The events this week prove once again that Australia’s climate promises to the Pacific are empty sweet nothings. While Australia may claim to consider climate change ‘a serious concern to the region’, they still have plans to double their coal exports in the next 10 years (despite already having a larger share of the seaborne coal market than Saudi Arabia has of the world oil market), which will further fuel catastrophic climate change,” Ms Walkden-Brown says.

“Not content with trampling the rights of Pacific islanders by lobbying for more coal as climate change impacts intensify, Mr Turnbull also sold out Australia’s Indigenous people this week, claiming that native title laws “will be fixed” to let the mine go ahead.

“However, in the true Pacific spirit, we remain hopeful that Australia will change their course and join us. Join us in a world moving toward 100% renewable energy. A world that recognises that gains in technology, science, medicine, and other fields that give people a chance at a higher standard of living, are now possible using 100% clean energy.

A world that accepts that developed and developing countries alike must pave the way, instead of propping up out-dated fossil fuel industries. A world that does not allow for politicised speeches to be dressed up as solutions. A world that understands climate finance is not a bargaining chip to be used against the vulnerable and unfairly affected. A world that knows words, promises, deals and temporary financial gains, can not absorb carbon. A world that needs fewer coal mines, not more.”

1. Fiji Times Online : “ Climate Change Fight” http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=387418

 2. Australian Financial Review: “Malcolm Turnbull tells Adani Native Title Issues Will Be Fixed.” “http://www.afr.com/news/politics/malcolm-turnbull-tells-adani-native-title-issues-will-be-fixed-20170410-gvi6i3

For more information, contact:

Simon Black, Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner

Tel: +61 418 219 086 / Email: sblack@greenpeace.org

Matisse Walkden-Brown, Head of Pacific Net

Email: mwalkden@greenpeace.org

Released tonight by Federal Treasurer, Scott Morrison, the 2017 Budget has no credible measures to battle global warming and fails to address the serious issue of corporate tax avoidance by the country’s largest polluters.

“At a time when companies like Chevron have been revealed to pay zero tax this government continues to put the interests of the fossil fuel industry ahead of the Australian people,” Greenpeace campaigner Nikola Casule said.

“It’s time for our leaders to look to the future and invest in renewable energy solutions instead of propping up yesterday’s industries in risky and polluting fossil fuel ventures.

“Despite the age of coal coming to a close Turnbull ministers continue to talk up Adani’s Carmichael mega-mine.

“If we’re to address climate change and stop disasters like the recent mass coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef we need to stop burning the coal we have now. Not dig up more.

“While the government cuts $2.8 billion from universities and continue to drastically reduce foreign aid it is still considering giving $1 billion to the Carmichael coal mine - a disastrous project that threatens the Great Barrier Reef.”

For interviews contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

New data released today by Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, shows record-breaking water temperatures have caused bleaching to over 1500 kilometres of coral over the last two summers.

“This second round of bleaching shows that we are running out of time to address climate change and protect one of Australia’s natural wonders,” Greenpeace campaigner Sebastien Blavier said.

“Last year we saw catastrophic bleaching on the northern parts of the Reef and this year the damage has moved further south.

“But instead of taking action to protect the Reef the government are considering funnelling almost $1 billion of taxpayers’ money to help fund the Carmichael mega-mine right next door.

“The Government must take action on the root cause of coral bleaching - and that is climate change, fueled by mining and burning fossil fuels like coal.”

Professor Hughes and his team collected data on the Reef by conducting aerial and below water surveys of about 800 separate reefs.

Unlike his 2016 survey, which found the bleaching to be more highly concentrated on the northernmost parts of the Reef, this year the worst of the damage has occurred in popular tourist areas further south between Townsville and Cairns.

“Almost 70,000 people rely on the Reef for their livelihoods, and the Reef is now in danger thanks to our Government’s inaction on climate change,” Blavier said.  

“Instead of supporting the dying coal industry our leaders must commit to keep taxpayers’ money out of the Carmichael mine.”

In 2015, UNESCO placed the Great Barrier Reef on its watchlist due to concerns about the Australian Government’s management of the World Heritage Area.

Coral bleaching occurs when the water temperature is too warm. This increase in temperature causes the coral to expel the algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues, which then takes on a bleached white appearance.

If water temperatures do not return to normal within six to eight weeks of the bleaching, the coral dies.

Notes to editors:

Photo and video can be accessed here, including drone footage of bleached coral: http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJJD68E1

Media contacts:

Simon Black, Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, mob: 0418 219 086, email: simon.black@greenpeace.org

Government representatives from the nearly 200 countries who are signed on to the Paris Agreement have gathered for high level talks in Bonn, Germany, this week at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

While countries like China and India have been calling for tighter rules on business groups, at a meeting on Tuesday, the Australian representative vigorously defended the right of fossil fuel companies, including ExxonMobil and Shell—two of the world’s biggest polluters—to participate in the negotiations.

Fossil fuel lobbyists have long had backdoor access to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) treaty and climate policy talks, effectively delaying, weakening and blocking progress for two decades. But unlike many other UN entities, no conflict of interest rules currently exist in the UNFCCC process.

“It is outrageous and disgusting to imagine representatives of the Australian government would defend such a flagrant conflict of interest. But it shows the kind of hold that fossil fuel companies have had on Australian politics for too long,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO, David Ritter.

“The national interest and the interests of the Australian people are not the same thing as the destructive vested interests of multinational fossil fuel companies.

“The Australian government should be calling for the same standards of propriety and fairness that we would ask of our own public service in Australia. Principles behind conflict of interest rules are well-known and universal and we should be striving to uphold them.

“It’s particularly egregious after having a reputation for going slow in international climate negotiations, that the Australian representatives would stoop to the new level of actively promoting the ongoing participation of vested interests determined to hold up progress,” Mr Ritter said.

A new report by Corporate Accountability International on the role of lobbyists at the UNFCCC, “Inside Job: Big Polluters’ lobbyists on the inside at the UNFCCC” was released in the lead up to the talks last week, on 1 May 2017. The reports examines six of the more than 270 business industry NGOs currently admitted to the climate talks, including the Business Council of Australia: https://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/insidejob

For interviews, contact:

Rachael Vincent, Media Campaigner Greenpeace Australia Pacific
Tel 02 9263 0354 Mob 0413 993 316

The reality is that current efforts fall far short of what is required to protect our most treasured natural wonder.

“A short snorkel in an undamaged area of the Reef does nothing to show the true picture of the lack of effort by Government to - as Julie Bishop says - “conserve, preserve and manage the Reef,”” said Greenpeace Campaigner, Alix Foster Vander Elst.

“In fact, it masks the sad reality. Government inaction has already seen two thirds of the coral hit by back-to-back mass bleaching events.”

Ms Bishop has enlisted the support of optimistic marine biologists to tell the media that bleached coral can recover and rejuvenate “without any mass die-off.”

“But the sad fact is that while coral can recover from bleaching, the conditions need to be right … and conditions are not right. The longer it is stressed, the less likely coral is to recover,” said Ms Alix Foster Vander Elst

Recent reports by Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, show that record-breaking water temperatures have caused bleaching to over 1500km of coral over the last two summers, leaving only the southern third of the Reef unscathed. And it is widely acknowledged that already some 67% of corals have already died in the reef's worst-hit northern section.

The Reef is under very serious threat. But perhaps worst of all, the Government is actively contributing to exacerbating the greatest threat to the Reef: climate change.

“Just last week, the Foreign Minister’s own department sent an Australian diplomat to UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany, where he shamelessly argued for the inclusion of the fossil fuel lobby - including two of the world’s biggest carbon polluters - in international climate negotiations,” said Ms Foster Vander Elst

“And the Government has continuously expressed its support for the proposed massive Carmichael mine in the Galilee valley, including a proposal to lend nearly $1bn of taxpayers’ money to the project, which will ship millions of tonnes of coal out through the Reef and directly impact its health by contributing to climate change,” Ms Foster Vander Elst said.

Bishop’s assertion that we are “leading the world in coral reef preservation and conservation” would be laughable if it weren’t so wrong. Australia’s Reef 2050 plan - which involves a $2bn commitment to improving the health of the reef over the next decade - falls lamentably short of what’s required.

Julie Bishop should direct our government to take her own advice and take realistic steps to “lift the local pressures on the reef”, and commit to a “concerted global effort” to prevent escalating climate change.

“The government should stop putting money into coal mines, commit to the Paris Agreement, take immediate action to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy which is booming internationally,” Ms Foster Vander Elst said.  

For interviews, contact:

Rachael Vincent, Media Campaigner Greenpeace Australia Pacific
Tel 02 9263 0354 Mob 0413 993 316

Editor’s notes:

For a truer picture of the state of the Great Barrier Reef, we recommend a look at these photos and videos, including drone footage of bleached coral off Port Douglas, only 60km north of Cairns, here: http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJJD68E1

Footnotes: 

1. As reported by the Courier Mail today [here]

2. “Two-thirds of the corals in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef have died in the reef’s worst-ever bleaching event, according to our latest underwater surveys,” : 'How much coral has died in the Great Barrier Reef’s worst bleaching event?', 29 November 2016, The Conversation [here]

New video released today shows crowds interacting with the standing exhibit, which was installed in central Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall in April.

The exhibit houses a three dimensional model iceberg with a polar bear perched on top and an invitation to interact.

Closer inspection reveals the iceberg is melting. Drops of water are steadily eroding the polar bear’s home. When someone interacts with the display with their mobile phone, immediately the descending drops begin to slow down, until they are completely suspended in thin air, even reversing to flow back up into the iceberg. The effect becomes stronger as more people get involved.

“One of the challenges of climate change is that people find it difficult to see the effect their efforts have on such a huge, global problem,” Greenpeace campaigner Nic Seton said.

“With this installation, we hope to illustrate that a collective effort can indeed make a real difference. It is only by rallying together that we will be able to slow down, stop, and even begin to reverse the damage that has been done to our environment.”

 “As a passer-by gets involved, the melting starts to slow down.  And as more and more people get involved, their efforts make a visible difference in the fight against climate change.”

Greenpeace worked with Ogilvy & Mather Singapore to conceptualise and build the reverse climate change interactive display.

Join the collective action by signing the petition at: http://greenpeace.org/reverse

Video & high-res images for the media are available at: http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJJPY8GQ&SO=Id

For more information or interviews contact:
Rachael Vincent, Media Campaigner 0413 993 316 | rachael.vincent@greenpeace.org

In a release today the Queensland state government announced that the proposed mine, in the Galilee Basin, would be required to pay all royalties and that “any NAIF funding needs to be between the Federal Government and Adani”.

“This announcement means that as things currently exist NAIF money cannot be given to Adani’s Carmichael mine,” Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner, Nikola Casule, said.

“The NAIF’s own Explanatory Memorandum decrees that states States need to provide agreement to the assistance.

“Today’s announcement from the Palaszczuk government is a refusal to provide that agreement and means any NAIF money cannot be used.”

Adani have applied for a loan from the NAIF to fund a rail line between their proposed Carmichael mine and the Abbot Point coal port.

“While we welcome this announcement, the Queensland government’s decision to grant a five year ‘royalty holiday’ for all projects in the Galilee, Surat, and North West basins is a contradiction and needs to be reconsidered,” Casule said.

“It is now up to the Turnbull government to rule out any public funds being granted to this environmentally destructive and economically disastrous project once and for all.”

The new royalties scheme allows coal and gas projects to defer a proportion of their royalty payments to the state government until the fifth year of operation.

For interviews contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

"This week, Australia has truly shown its tireless commitment to selling out Pacific islanders.

If the Carmichael coal mine goes ahead, it would supply 2.3bn tonnes of coal to be burnt over the next 60 years, fuelling catastrophic climate change.

“Typically, in an attempt to remain being seen as a friend to the Pacific, and continue fending off Chinese advances, Australia’s Ambassador for Climate Change, Patrick Suckling, came to Fiji in January, with a completely opposing message.

Earlier this year, Mr Suckling said, “The purpose of my visit here is to talk to the Government and the business community on how Australia and Fiji can strongly work together on the damaging impacts of climate change.”

“Both countries take climate change very seriously. It is a serious concern to the region, and part of Australia's interest in climate change is that we support and work with the Pacific Island nations in terms of meeting the challenges of climate change,” he said.

“The events this week prove once again that Australia’s climate promises to the Pacific are empty sweet nothings. While Australia may claim to consider climate change ‘a serious concern to the region’, they still have plans to double their coal exports in the next 10 years (despite already having a larger share of the seaborne coal market than Saudi Arabia has of the world oil market), which will further fuel catastrophic climate change,” Ms Walkden-Brown says.

“Not content with trampling the rights of Pacific islanders by lobbying for more coal as climate change impacts intensify, Mr Turnbull also sold out Australia’s Indigenous people this week, claiming that native title laws “will be fixed” to let the mine go ahead.

“However, in the true Pacific spirit, we remain hopeful that Australia will change their course and join us. Join us in a world moving toward 100% renewable energy. A world that recognises that gains in technology, science, medicine, and other fields that give people a chance at a higher standard of living, are now possible using 100% clean energy.

A world that accepts that developed and developing countries alike must pave the way, instead of propping up out-dated fossil fuel industries. A world that does not allow for politicised speeches to be dressed up as solutions. A world that understands climate finance is not a bargaining chip to be used against the vulnerable and unfairly affected. A world that knows words, promises, deals and temporary financial gains, can not absorb carbon. A world that needs fewer coal mines, not more.”

1. Fiji Times Online : “ Climate Change Fight” http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=387418

 2. Australian Financial Review: “Malcolm Turnbull tells Adani Native Title Issues Will Be Fixed.” “http://www.afr.com/news/politics/malcolm-turnbull-tells-adani-native-title-issues-will-be-fixed-20170410-gvi6i3

For more information, contact:

Simon Black, Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner

Tel: +61 418 219 086 / Email: sblack@greenpeace.org

Matisse Walkden-Brown, Head of Pacific Net

Email: mwalkden@greenpeace.org

Released tonight by Federal Treasurer, Scott Morrison, the 2017 Budget has no credible measures to battle global warming and fails to address the serious issue of corporate tax avoidance by the country’s largest polluters.

“At a time when companies like Chevron have been revealed to pay zero tax this government continues to put the interests of the fossil fuel industry ahead of the Australian people,” Greenpeace campaigner Nikola Casule said.

“It’s time for our leaders to look to the future and invest in renewable energy solutions instead of propping up yesterday’s industries in risky and polluting fossil fuel ventures.

“Despite the age of coal coming to a close Turnbull ministers continue to talk up Adani’s Carmichael mega-mine.

“If we’re to address climate change and stop disasters like the recent mass coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef we need to stop burning the coal we have now. Not dig up more.

“While the government cuts $2.8 billion from universities and continue to drastically reduce foreign aid it is still considering giving $1 billion to the Carmichael coal mine - a disastrous project that threatens the Great Barrier Reef.”

For interviews contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

The group today unveiled a 75 x 25m banner over stockpiles at the Newcastle Coal Port to send a message directly to the Commonwealth Bank that “CommBank’s coal kills”.

CommBank loaned $310 million to the port in 2014 as the mandated lead arranger of a $1.2 billion banking syndicate [1] and according to research by Market Forces they are also the largest Australian lender to fossil fuels in 2016[2].

“People know that coal is a dirty, polluting fossil fuel that is driving climate change and damaging our environment,” Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner Nikola Casule said.

“Communities in the Hunter Valley and beyond are already bearing the brunt of the immediate health costs that are an inevitable byproduct of this industry.

“Coal mining damages the lungs not only of the people who mine it, but also the health of the people living in communities where the mines and coal terminals are located.

“By investing in more coal in the Hunter region, the Commonwealth Bank is standing in the way of a just transition for these communities.”

This year’s National Pollutant Inventory [3], released at the end of March, revealed coal-related pollutants at mines, power plants and export facilities continue to rise.

These particulates can spur premature death by worsening existing heart and lung conditions and include thousands of tonnes of fine particulates smaller than 2.5 micrometres – about 1/30th the width of a human hair – so fine that they can enter the bloodstream.

Coarse particulates (PM10) emitted by Newcastle's three coal terminals also rose 25 per cent last year, much faster than the increase of about 10 per cent in coal volumes.

PM10 pollution at the Kooragang terminal has risen by 48 per cent in the past three years.

“Coal mining produces dangerous particulate pollution that has direct health impacts on the population in addition to coal’s contribution to global warming and climate change,” Climate Epidemiologist with Queensland University of Technology Professor Hilary Bambrick said.

“There are 3000 respiratory deaths caused by particulate air pollution each year in Australia, and many of these are caused by coal dust.”

Greenpeace is calling on the Commonwealth Bank to immediately rule out involvement in new coal projects in Australia, as the first step towards a decarbonisation of its lending portfolio.

The Bank is due to release a new policy on climate change in August.

Nicola Bowskill is a local resident who lives near the rail line supplying the Newcastle Port and is about to have her first child.

“My daughter will be born in the world largest coal port and she will live daily with local impacts of the industry such coal dust,” Ms Bowskill said.

“But far more serious and frightening in her future is the unsafe, extreme climate we’re hurtling towards.

“She faces a dramatically different future than I did. If this current lack of action on climate change continues, she will have to deal with serious social and environmental collapse.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS:
[1] https://tradefinanceanalytics.com/articles/3342221/exclusive-ncig-signs-12bn-combo-facility
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/mar/06/big-australian-banks-invest-7bn-more-in-fossil-fuels-than- renewables-says-report
[3] http://npi.gov.au/npi-data/search-npi-data

For interviews contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org

New data released today by Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, shows record-breaking water temperatures have caused bleaching to over 1500 kilometres of coral over the last two summers.

“This second round of bleaching shows that we are running out of time to address climate change and protect one of Australia’s natural wonders,” Greenpeace campaigner Sebastien Blavier said.

“Last year we saw catastrophic bleaching on the northern parts of the Reef and this year the damage has moved further south.

“But instead of taking action to protect the Reef the government are considering funnelling almost $1 billion of taxpayers’ money to help fund the Carmichael mega-mine right next door.

“The Government must take action on the root cause of coral bleaching - and that is climate change, fueled by mining and burning fossil fuels like coal.”

Professor Hughes and his team collected data on the Reef by conducting aerial and below water surveys of about 800 separate reefs.

Unlike his 2016 survey, which found the bleaching to be more highly concentrated on the northernmost parts of the Reef, this year the worst of the damage has occurred in popular tourist areas further south between Townsville and Cairns.

“Almost 70,000 people rely on the Reef for their livelihoods, and the Reef is now in danger thanks to our Government’s inaction on climate change,” Blavier said.  

“Instead of supporting the dying coal industry our leaders must commit to keep taxpayers’ money out of the Carmichael mine.”

In 2015, UNESCO placed the Great Barrier Reef on its watchlist due to concerns about the Australian Government’s management of the World Heritage Area.

Coral bleaching occurs when the water temperature is too warm. This increase in temperature causes the coral to expel the algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues, which then takes on a bleached white appearance.

If water temperatures do not return to normal within six to eight weeks of the bleaching, the coral dies.

Notes to editors:

Photo and video can be accessed here, including drone footage of bleached coral: http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJJD68E1

Media contacts:

Simon Black, Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, mob: 0418 219 086, email: simon.black@greenpeace.org