Latest scheme to create mirror clouds a symptom of government’s inaction on bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef

Sydney, 27 April 2017: The government’s failure to take effective action to protect the Great Barrier Reef from climate change is forcing tourism operators and scientists to consider increasingly extreme measures, Greenpeace Australia Pacific says.

The latest idea - to brighten clouds[1] so they can better deflect the sun’s rays and help to cool the waters surrounding the Reef - show the desperation felt in the community, Greenpeace campaigner Alix Foster Vander Elst said.

“Last month we had tourism operators hoping to use giant pumps to blast cold water over the Reef to stop coral bleaching [2] and this month we have scientists trying to essentially turn the sky into a giant mirror,” Alix said.

“Regardless of the scheme’s merits these schemes sound like something out of a James Bond movie and they show how far people are willing to go to try to find a way to protect one of Australia’s greatest natural treasures.

“We know what is causing the bleaching on the Reef - climate change and we need to take immediate action to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.

“But instead of this, the government is considering giving $1 billion to a billionaire mining corporation to help them create a mine which will detonate a carbon bomb right next door to the Reef.

“They do nothing to address climate change and leave everyone else to come up with schemes like giant pumps and reflective clouds.”

[1] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-25/cloud-brightening-could-help-cool-great-barrier-reef/8469960

[2] http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/mediacentre/media-releases/Plan-to-use-giant-pump-to-cool-Great-Barrier-Reef-shows-why-we-should-throw-cold-water-on-Carmichael-coal-mine-proposal-/

For interviews contact:

Simon Black

Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner

0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org