The Climate Council says UNESCO’s decision not to acknowledge the Great Barrier Reef is in danger doesn’t mean it’s safe from climate change.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee (WHC) this week fell short of designating the reef as ‘in danger’.
This is despite a WHC warning in June that CO2 emissions will continue to kill the reef unless action is taken.
“This UNESCO decision doesn’t change the situation we are facing,” Climate Council member Professor Will Steffen said.
“The science says, without a doubt, that the Great Barrier Reef is in danger.”
Reef 2050 Plan doesn’t address climate change: Steffen
Prof Steffen said the government’s Reef 2050 Plan doesn’t tackle the real driver of damage to the reef – climate change.”
“The biggest threat to the Reef by far is increasing ocean temperatures, driven by the burning of fossil fuels.”
He said unless Australia adopts strong climate and energy policies, the reef will have “very little chance of surviving”.
Prof Steffen said two years of mass coral bleaching of the reef should serve as a clear warning to UNESCO and the Australian Government.
“What more has to happen before the reef is considered ‘in danger’?”
Prof Steffen said Australia needs “urgent leadership on climate change”, adding the government was “in limbo” over its clean energy policy.
WHC decision endorses Reef 2050 Plan: Frydenberg
However, the Federal Government says the WHC decision is tacit approval for its Reef 2050 Plan.
Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg told the ABC the government had invested heavily in the reef. He said it would take time for improvements to show.
“This announcement is a big win for Australia and a big win for the Turnbull Government,” he said.
“We’ve received a strong endorsement that our Reef 2050 plan, which is a coordinated, integrated plan with the Queensland Government, is working.”
The WHC decision comes as plans for Australia’s largest multi-billion dollar coal mine are still progressing.
Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin is endorsed by the Federal and Queensland Governments.
Last month, Prof Steffen said new modelling proves jobs associated with the reef far outstrip those provided by the oil and gas industries.
“The Reef delivers an impressive 39,000 direct jobs to Australia’s economy,” he said.
“That’s more than Telstra or Qantas. In fact, last financial year the reef delivered more than $6.4 billion in value to the national economy.”
