Thread by @David_Ritter

As @UNESCO decides whether the Great Barrier Reef is world heritage in danger, it’s crucial to understand the history of the failure of Australian politicians to protect the Reef. Weirdly, it all began with a beautiful promise. A thread: #auspol #ForNature

In 1981 the Great Barrier Reef was declared as World Heritage under UNESCO, and Australia promised the world that “to the utmost of its resources” our nation would “do all it can” to protect the Reef: whc.unesco.org/en/conventiont…

It is important to remember that the Fraser Coalition Government chose to nominate the Great Barrier Reef - and the achievement of World Heritage status was something that we were proud of as a nation. Of course we would protect the Reef!

Flash forward three decades to 2012. Despite some significant conservation successes over time, a new report found the Reef had lost half its coral since 1985. Clearly much more effort was needed: pnas.org/content/109/44…

Then in early 2016, the first great bleaching event occurred. Scientists estimated 22% of coral was killed, clearly linking this to climate change and noting the need for urgent action. nature.com/articles/d4158…

Despite this, the Australian government lobbied a few months later to ensure the Reef was omitted from a report on World Heritage sites threatened by climate change. theguardian.com/environment/20…

In early 2017, for the first time in recorded history, the reef suffered back-to-back mass bleaching events. e360.yale.edu/features/insid…

In the middle of this unprecedented heatwave event, it was reported that the Marine Park Authority was forced to scale back surveys due to lack of funding for monitoring. theguardian.com/environment/20…

After these two catastrophic events, in 2018 the Australian government awarded $443 million to a tiny organisation with links to the mining industry without proper due diligence, transparency or tendering - purportedly to ‘protect the Reef’
joshfrydenberg.com.au/latest-news/re…

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

This was right around the time that Adani’s Carmichael Mine was moving swiftly through approvals despite its potentially huge contribution to climate change: just one of many fossil fuel projects subsidised and championed by the Australian government. theguardian.com/environment/20…

Despite the recorded catastrophic loss of coral life and countless studies on the growing implications of the climate crisis, in May 2019 Scott Morrison claimed his government had ‘saved the Great Barrier Reef.’ theguardian.com/environment/20…

In August 2019, the @gbrmarinepark's outlook report found that Reef health had deteriorated from poor to very poor for the first time. This included clear warnings that urgent national and global action was required to address the climate crisis. abc.net.au/news/2019-08-3…

Just a month later, Scott Morrison addressed the UN saying Australia was ‘doing its bit’ on climate, with a ‘vibrant, resilient and protected reef’ despite having no federal climate policy. theconversation.com/defiant-scott-…

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, experts said the Australian Government had violated its legal obligations to protect the Reef under the World Heritage Convention: theguardian.com/environment/20…

In August 2020, the government’s own GBR envoy urged his fellow MPs to do more on climate change, noting 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…

No policy or action taken can truly protect the Reef, and no leader can suggest they are conserving it, without being supported by meaningful climate action. This is the big lie countless Australian politicians have hid behind for years.
theguardian.com/sustainable-bu…

A new report this week found Australia has increased its fossil fuel subsidies by 48% since signing the Paris Agreement in 2015. The burning and mining of coal, oil and gas is the biggest contributor to the climate crisis. assets.bbhub.io/professional/s…

Australia’s Reef 2050 Plan, supposedly designed to protect and preserve the GBR, contains no action to reduce emissions which are driving climate change which is the greatest threat to the Reef’s survival.
theguardian.com/environment/20…

As long as Australia has no credible target or mechanism for slashing emissions and continues to promote fossil fuels, the substance of the government’s de facto national approach is the destruction of the Reef. crikey.com.au/2012/10/05/why…

Whatever @UNESCO formally decides this week, our #GreatBarrierReef is in mortal danger. If politicians will not do their job, then the people of Australia must step in, to force change, to give our beautiful Reef a fighting chance. #auspol #ForNature