The ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies today announced only 7 percent of the Great Barrier Reef has avoided coral bleaching and that surveys of the northern Reef show 50-90% mortality from corals that have bleached.
“This is heartbreaking news that the Australian Government must act on. It’s not good enough for them to say they care about the Reef while they keep backing the coal industry and avoid tackling climate change,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific reef campaigner, Shani Tager.
“The most pristine part of the Great Barrier Reef is on the brink of permanent damage. Now is the time to act, to put the brakes on the coal industry before this sort of devastating bleaching becomes an annual event.
“Mining and burning coal is driving climate change and warming our waters and the Reef is getting more and more fragile as a result,” said Ms Tager.
ENDS