Thread by @David_Ritter

Hey @ScottMorrison this week your ministers said they were “stunned” & “blindsided” by UNESCO saying that the #GreatBarrierReef should be listed as in danger. Why? Here's a sample of 15 expert warnings in the last 5 years about the mortal threat to the Reef from #climatechange.

In early 2016, the first of recent mass bleaching events occurred in the Great Barrier Reef. Scientists estimated 22% of coral was killed, clearly linked this to climate change and noted the need for urgent action to counter impacts. nature.com/articles/d4158…

Also in 2016, the UN released a major report on climate change with a key chapter focussing on the Great Barrier Reef. (You might remember that the government intervened prior to its release, objecting that the information would harm tourism).
theguardian.com/environment/20…

In early 2017, another mass bleaching event hit the Reef hard - this was the first time in recorded history that the Great Barrier Reef had been faced with back-to-back mass bleaching events: e360.yale.edu/features/insid…

In October 2018, an IPCC assessment of climate science highlighted global heating of 1.5C would likely lead to the disappearance of a majority of tropical coral reefs around the world, and even an 1.2C rise would put them at ‘very high risk’. ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/s…

In April 2019, it was confirmed the Reef suffered an 89% collapse in new coral after the 2016-17 climate change-induced mass bleaching events: nature.com/articles/s4158…

In August 2019, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s Outlook Report found that Reef health had deteriorated from poor to very poor for the first time. This included clear warnings that urgent action was required to reduce emissions: abc.net.au/news/2019-08-3…

In December 2019, your own government conceded to UNESCO that the Great Barrier Reef is ‘an icon under pressure with a deteriorating long-term outlook’: environment.gov.au/heritage/publi…

Also in December 2019, a report on the impacts of climate change on ocean economy found that reef tourism (worth billions to the Australian economy) may be virtually wiped out by climate change: reneweconomy.com.au/morrison-spons…

In March 2020, the most widespread bleaching event on record was clearly reported. This was the third mass bleaching in five years, finding severe bleaching across a quarter of the Reef attributable to climate change: theconversation.com/we-just-spent-…

In June 2020, a coalition of environmental law groups in the US and Australia published a report to UNESCO pushing for the placing of the Reef on the ‘in danger’ list due to it’s continually declining health: earthjustice.org/news/press/202…

In August 2020, the government's own GBR envoy urged his fellow MPs to do more on climate change, noting in a report to Minister Ley that climate change was having a growing impact on the reef and was unequivocally its greatest long-term threat: environment.gov.au/system/files/r…

In October 2020, a new research report found that corals on the Reef have more than halved over the past 25 years: washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…

In December 2020, the Great Barrier Reef outlook deteriorated to ‘critical’ according to the world heritage outlook report - this is the most urgent status under the International Union for Conservation of Nature: iucn.org/news/secretari…

In February 2021, a report card released by the government itself again found the reef remained in poor health, and scientists called once again for urgent climate action: sciencetimes.com/articles/29722…

In April 2021, a Royal Society scientific report stated that the Reef needed a large-scale intervention to survive, suggesting the ‘life support’ measures that were required to buy the Great Barrier Reef another two decades: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rs…

The Great Barrier Reef is a wonder of the world that Australia promised to protect under UNESCO. There is still hope for long-term recovery, but you need to start by owning up to the truth, and taking urgent climate action now. #auspol #ClimateAction #ForNature