The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority yesterday raised the reef’s coral bleaching threat level to 3, to the highest possible. The response was issued because of severe regional bleaching in the northern Great Barrier Reef.
“The pictures we’re seeing coming out of the northern Great Barrier Reef are devastating,” said Shani Tager Greenpeace Australia Pacific Reef Campaigner. “This is the most pristine, beautiful part of the Reef and some of the areas have lost 50% of their coral because of the warm waters. The Queensland and federal Governments must see this as a red alert and act accordingly.”
“Right now, Anthony Lynham, Queensland’s minister for natural resources and mines, is deciding whether to approve the Carmichael coal mine. The Queensland Government must stop acting in the interests of the coal industry and refuse the mining lease. The mining and burning of coal is driving climate change, warming our waters and bleaching the life and colour out of our Reef.
“The Reef is of the world’s greatest natural wonders, it’s beloved by Australians and people around the world, and is home for thousands of species. This is the highest warning possible for the Reef and it must be the line in the sand. Our Government’s addiction to the coal industry must be broken.
“Regardless of where it’s sold and sent, Australia coal will contribute to greenhouse gas pollution, and that will still fuel climate change.
“The best way of protecting our Reef from climate change, is to do everything we can to stop burning fossil fuels, which means leaving them in the ground. That means Carmichael must never be developed.”
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) put the Australian Government on notice in July last year, that it would review the status of the Reef in December 2016, to see if the Reef 2050 plan was satisfactorily protecting the World Heritage ecosystem.
“It’s patently obvious that the Australian Government’s plans are not protecting the Reef, as it suffers its worst bleaching episode in years,” said Ms Tager. “UNESCO will be watching the devastation to the Reef that is currently unfolding. We are seeing the the threat that climate change poses to the future of the Reef; a threat that the Australian Government has failed to address.”