In days, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will decide whether to declare our Great Barrier Reef ‘in danger’. The Morrison Government is in overdrive lobbying against it. To protect the Reef’s astounding diversity they must face its biggest threat – climate damage from burning coal and gas. International pressure has the ability to force bold action, which can save thousands of species. Will you quickly add your name to ask UNESCO to protect our Reef?
From today, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will meet to decide whether to list the Great Barrier Reef as ‘in danger.’1
It would be a major international embarrassment for the Morrison Government and a way to force real action on climate. In fact, when the Belize Barrier Reef was listed as ‘in danger’ in 2009, the Belize Government was driven to ban offshore oil and gas activities in its marine territories. 2
So we know this decision can have real impact, compelling the Morrison Government to do more to cut the climate pollution that’s killing our Reef.
That’s why Scott Morrison is trying desperately to avoid taking responsibility, doing everything possible to fight the listing,3 rushing ambassadors on a snorkeling trip, and enlisting oil nations Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to lobby against it.4
CHRYS, we can’t let Morrison speak for us on this vital international stage. If tens of thousands of us speak together, we can ensure we’re heard directly by the UNESCO Committee who could play a critical role in the future of our Reef.
We love the Great Barrier Reef. It is teeming with life, a vast underwater universe with flashes of fish, coral, turtles, whales, dolphins, sharks, and rays. 5
Yet this natural wonder of the world is at risk from climate damage from burning coal, oil, and gas. Three mass bleaching events in just five years have left more than half of the coral dead.6
Our Reef is in serious trouble in a heating world.It’s heart-breaking. But every fraction of a degree of global warming we prevent will protect biodiversity in our Reef’s precious ecosystem.7 And that diversity is a sanctuary of life.
That’s why we need to urge UNESCO to take action to protect our threatened Reef and all of the life that calls it home.
A handful of big corporations make Australia the biggest exporter of fossil fuels in the world, so decisions our government makes to reign in climate pollution matter.8
Instead of cutting pollution to protect the Reef, the Morrison Government continues to approve giant new coal and gas projects.9 It’s no surprise the Morrison Government’s climate record was recently rated dead last out of nearly 200 countries.10
Still they have the audacity to fight the ‘in danger’ listing the Reef desperately needs. But the pressure is ramping up internationally and domestically.
This is our opportunity to help tip the balance. UNESCO Committee members will meet soon to make their decision. In one ear they’ll have Scott Morrison twisting and spinning his way out of responsibility.
In the other ear they need tens of thousands of us – who call this country and all its natural wonders home – to speak up for our Reef. Will you add your voice?
PS – Our astounding Great Barrier Reef supports well over 9,000 species of marine life, six of the world’s seven species of marine turtle, and 133 species of sharks and rays. No other World Heritage Area on the planet contains its diversity.11 Our Government has a responsibility to safeguard this sanctuary. Add your quick signature to the petition today.
References:
[1] UNESCO recommends Great Barrier Reef world heritage site should be listed as ‘in danger,’ The Guardian, 22 June 2021.
[2] World’s second largest coral reef has just been removed from endangered list, The Good News Network, 6 July 2018.
[3] Australia and 11 other countries lobby UNESCO over Great Barrier Reef decision-making, The Guardian, 24 June 2021.
[4] Australia to host ambassadors at Great Barrier Reef ahead of ‘in danger’ list vote, The Guardian, 14 July 2021.
[5] Great Barrier Reef Facts, Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
[6] Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its corals since 1995, BBC News, 14 October 2020.
[7] Great Barrier Reef faces dire threat with 2C global warming, UN report says, The Guardian, 8 Oct 2018.
[8] Australian government to appeal climate change ruling, Argus Media, 9 July 2021.
[9] Argus Media: Australia plans additional 527 million tpy coal mining capacity World Coal, 13 July 2021.
[10] Australia ranked dead last in world for climate action in latest UN report, Renew Economy , 1 July 2021.
[11] Biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef — how adequately is it protected?, PeerJ, 8 May 2018.
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