“The Abbott Government’s 2050 Reef Plan appears to be a roadmap to Great Barrier grief - not a roadmap to recovery,” says Greenpeace campaigner Jessica Panegyres.
“This plan allows for massive coal port expansions and barely deals with climate change, despite the Australian government’s own scientists saying climate change is the number one threat to the Reef.”
The Reef 2050 Plan is a joint plan between the Australian and Queensland governments that is supposed to provide for the Reef’s long-term protection from 2015 to 2050. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee requested this plan when it first expressed concern about the Reef’s health in 2012.
This week, leading reef scientists said the Great Barrier Reef cannot be healthy if planned coal expansions go ahead, following a report published in international journal Science, where world renowned reef experts said the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area is at risk of collapse from climate change and poor management.
“The 2050 Plan is playing lip service to Reef protection rather than committing to the necessary interventions. This is disappointing but hardly surprising given Tony Abbott’s track record on environmental protection and climate change,” said Panegyres.
“Unfortunately, the Australian government is choosing new coal mines and coal ports, rather than a healthy Reef that supports thousands of jobs and a thriving tourism industry.”
Video footage and photographs of Abbot Point terminal available here: http://www.greenpeacemedia.org/main.php?g2_itemId=19586 Username: photos Password: green
For images, interviews or more information, contact: Elsa Evers, 0438 204 041 or Jessica Panegyres, 0424 090 396 (on Hamilton Island)