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'Urgent', Australia to protect Great Barrier Reef — UNESCO
By Nidz Godino
"Urgent and sustained action is of utmost priority," Australia must take "urgent" action to protect Great Barrier Reef, including setting more ambitious climate targets, UN's cultural organization has warned.
In draft decision, UNESCO also asked Australia to submit update on protection efforts early next year, but stopped short of recommending reef be placed on its list of endangered heritage sites.
Decision, was welcomed by Australia's Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek as a "huge win".
"We are acting on climate change, improving local water quality, protecting our marine life, dealing with invasive species, and investing record amount of money into reef programs," she said in a statement.
But UNESCO decision, which will guide meeting of World Heritage Committee in New Delhi next month, warns world's largest coral system "remains under serious threat."
Fate of reef has been recurrent source of tension between UNESCO and Australian authorities, with World Heritage Committee threatening to put world's largest coral system on its list of "in danger" global heritage sites.
Behind--scenes diplomacy and lobbying from Australia have avoided such move and commitments from Labour government of Anthony Albanese have drawn praise from Paris-based organization.
Draft decision welcomed some of the steps taken by Australia, including on water quality around reef and restrictions on gill-net fishing.
But it expressed "high concern" about land clearing threatening water quality, and said Australia should "set more ambitious emission reduction targets."
Citing ongoing mass bleaching of reef, it asked for update by next February, rebuffing Australia's request to wait until 2026.
It also urged Australia to make public "as soon as possible" details on reef mortality rates in latest round of bleaching.
Plibersek said UNESCO had recognized Australian efforts to protect reef.
"Today's draft decision is huge win for Queensland, huge win for thousands of people who rely on reef for work, and huge win for all plants and animals that call it home," she said.
Environmental groups, however, said UNESCO decision should be "wake-up call".
"UNESCO has asked Australia to set more ambitious climate targets, and given us February 2025 deadline to submit progress report clock is ticking," said Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter.
World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia also released new images showing bleached and dead coral on the reef.
Group urged Australia to commit to federal emissions reduction target of at least 90 percent below 2005 levels by 2035 and to stop approving new fossil fuel projects.
Australia currently targets reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2050.
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