(Sydney) Australia must take “urgent” steps to protect the Great Barrier Reef, particularly by adopting more ambitious climate goals, UNESCO warned on Monday.
The world's largest coral ecosystem is “seriously threatened” and “urgent and sustained action is a high priority,” the agency said in a statement, citing the problem of bleaching the barrier.
UNESCO has asked Australia to submit an update on its coral conservation and protection efforts by early 2025, but has not recommended placing the site on the World Heritage in Danger list.
Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek welcomed the UN's request.
It was “a big win for Queensland, a big win for the thousands of people who rely on the reef for work, a big win for all the plants and animals that call it home,” he said in a statement on Monday.
Photo by David Gray, Agence France-Presse Archives
However, environmental groups say UNESCO's decision is a “wake-up call”.
“UNESCO has asked Australia to set more ambitious climate targets and has given it a deadline of February 2025 to submit a progress report,” recalls Australia-Pacific Greenpeace Executive Director David Ritter.
The Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Australia is experiencing its worst-ever bleaching episode due to global warming, with 73% of its reefs damaged, the government's Marine Park Authority announced in April.
This new episode is the fifth in eight years due to rising water temperatures.
This dying event leads to the expulsion of the symbiotic algae that give the coral its bright color. If high temperatures persist, the coral will turn white and die.
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