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The Future Of The Great Barrier Reef Downgraded To Very Poor

The Future Of The Great Barrier Reef Downgraded To Very Poor

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority have just released their five year report and it doesn't look good.

LADBible Australia

LADBible Australia

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority have just released their five year report to give the world a little sneak peek of what is in store for the iconic marine wonderland - and it doesn't look good.

The report states: "The current rate of global warming will not allow the maintenance of a healthy reef for future generations."

Extreme heat events in 2016 and 2017 led to half the corals of the Great Barrier reef dying off.

Rising ocean temperatures cause corals to expel the algae that keeps them alive, leading to the pale coral fields we're now used to seeing.

The authority's chief scientist David Wachenfeld said in a statement: "Gradual sea temperature increase and extremes such as marine heat waves are the most immediate threats to the reef as a whole and pose the highest risk. Global action on climate change is critical."

The report by chance was released shortly after the Morrison government announced the latest national greenhouse gas emissions results showing emissions for the last 12 months had been higher than those of any year since 2013.

So as calls for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions mount, the numbers are showing that our love for burning fossil fuels is on the rise.

The Ocean Agency

In 2014, the Marine Park Authority graded the outlook for the Great Barrier Reef as "poor" and have now downgraded this to "very poor". If you were getting these grades at school, it's fairly obvious that things aren't getting better.

Meanwhile, the Annual Reef Report Card released by the Federal and Queensland governments last week have scored the health of the inshore reef as a solid "D". Not exactly top of the class.

Minister for the environment, Sussan Ley responded to the report by saying: "There are those who will not be happy unless we declare the reef dead in the name of climate change, just as there are those who want to claim that nothing out of the ordinary is taking place." No mention was made of plans to act on the Marine Park Authority's advice.

To protect the reef by granting her the rights and protections she deserves, click here and help make the Great Barrier Reef an Australian citizen.

CITIZEN REEF Supporting Partner
CITIZEN REEF Supporting Partner
Featured Image Credit: The Ocean Agency

Topics: climate change, Citizen Reef, Politics