UNESCO has threatened to list the Great Barrier Reef, as a “World Heritage in Danger” unless Australia cleans up its act and works harder to save this ecological treasure. On Friday the Australian government filed a report on what it’s doing, which coral reef scientists have declared inadequate. Tragically, the government’s plan of action, outlined in its Reef 2050 Plan, is silent about global warming. Moreover the Queensland government is pushing ahead with plans to build a vast port to ship coal in the middle of the GBR and Oz is showing little sign of meeting its CO2 target emissions to ensure world temperatures don’t rise by more than 2˚C, a must if reefs are to survive. Shame on my native land!

Here you can see footage of a helicopter flyover above dozens of GBR rub-reefs devastated by massive coral bleaching this year.

Photo by Jason South.