Australian environmental groups are lobbying against the Government to acknowledge the Great Barrier Reef as ‘In Danger’.
Ten environmental groups have penned a letter to the Government advocating for the placement of the Great Barrier Reef on the UNESCO ‘In Danger’ list.
An excerpt from the letter reads: “While parts of the Great Barrier Reef remain beautiful, we cannot underestimate the existential threat from climate change, with substantial coral loss in recent years from mass coral bleaching events in 2016, 2017 and 2020.”
The letter was written by groups such as the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), Greenpeace Australia Pacific, WWF-Australia, Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network, The Wilderness Society and the Australian Conservation Foundation.
The letter furtherly wrote that: “Global leadership on climate change for the Great Barrier Reef must start with Australia – how else can we expect the world to act with the scale and urgency necessary to protect one of the world’s most iconic world heritage properties?”
Environmental groups aren’t the only ones urging for The Great Barrier Reef to be listed as ‘In Danger.’
Results from two polls of Australians shows there is overwhelming support for the in-danger recommendation.
Last week, Environmental Minister Sussan Ley gave a briefing streamed to UNESCO diplomats in Paris.
“The Great Barrier Reef is the best managed reef in the world and this draft recommendation has been made without examining the reef first-hand, and without the latest information.”
A month earlier, UNESCO recommended that the Australian Government put the site on the ‘In-Danger’ list.
The Australian Government slammed the recommendation that “blindsided” them.
I’m flying to an airport near the Great Barrier Reef so I can tell my grandchildren that I saw it before climate change snuffed it out.
— Jeff “Power BI Lobbyist” Weir(d) (@InsightsMachine) July 7, 2021
