Young Greenpeace Germany volunteers delivered a petition to the Chairperson of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, Professor Maria Böhmer with signatures from nearly 200 countries and on behalf of millions of people worldwide who have added their voices to the global movement to save the Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef is at risk from the expansion of the coal industry in Queensland, Australia, that will see huge coal mines developed in the Galilee Basin, coal terminals built on the Reef coast, and a massive increase in coal shipping through the Reef. This expansion is promoted by the Australian government.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific Political Advisor, Jess Panegyres, said:
“The desperate bid by the Australian government to pretend that the reef is fine has culminated in their ‘Reef 2050 Plan’ which has loopholes so big you can drive coal-carrying ships through them. The plan has effectively carved out a space for gigantic coal mines and port expansion that will create a highway for coal ships straight through the Reef.”
The campaign to save the Great Barrier Reef has wide support from: scientists, including the Australian Academy of Science; Nobel Laureate, Peter Doherty; Hollywood stars; tourism operators and local divers; residents and countless environmental groups. Indigenous Traditional Owners of the land on which the proposed Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin will be built have also been campaigning worldwide to halt the project.
In its draft report last month, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee expressed its concern that climate change and coastal developments are major threats to the Reef [1]. UNESCO has warned that the poor condition of the Great Barrier Reef will worsen and that all threats to it must be reduced for it to have a fighting chance to recover and resist the effects of climate change [2]. In addition, scientists have warned that the Committee’s instruction to the Australian government to immediately implement its Reef 2050 Plan is not enough to save the Reef [3].
“Government and banks who throw their money into Australia’s largest coal mine and expand the Abbott Point coal port are financing the destruction of a delicate and endangered World Heritage site. Scientists have been absolutely clear: we can have coal expansion or a healthy Reef, we can’t have both.
“We are part of a massive and growing, global movement that wants a healthy Great Barrier Reef – one without the threat of gigantic coal mines and port expansions looming over it. UNESCO is keeping the Australian government on probation for the next 18 months, but the Reef will remain in danger while there is the prospect of coal expansion and as long as Tony Abbott continues to campaign for coal,” added Panegyres.
The Greenpeace delegation is in Bonn to highlight the massive threat of climate change and destructive development to four World Heritage properties in Russia and Australia: the Golden Mountains of Altai; the Virgin Komi Forests; the Natural Complex of Wrangel Island Reserve and the Great Barrier Reef.
ENDS
Notes:
[1] UNESCO Draft Decision here.
[2] The report further concludes that the overall outlook for the Great Barrier Reef is “poor, has worsened since 2009 and is expected to further deteriorate in the future” and that substantial reductions of pressures are required to prevent the projected declines and improve the property's capacity to recover from the effects of climate change.
[3] Read Nature Climate Change, “Securing the future of the Great Barrier Reef”, published on 6th of April 2015, here.
Photos can be viewed here.
Contact:
In Bonn:
Jess Panegyres, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Political Advisor:+ 61 424 090 396
Arin de Hoog, Greenpeace Media: +31 646 197 329
In Australia:
Shani Tager, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Reef Campaigner: +61 427 914 070
Sara Holden, Greenpeace Media, Sydney: +61 417 329 504