Climate Change #1 Threat to Australia’s Natural Wonders

A new report has found climate change is the single greatest threat to the planet’s natural wonders, with the outlook for the Great Barrier Reef changing from “significant concern” to “critical” - the most urgent status.

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Five of Australia’s natural icons, including The Reef, Blue Mountains, and Gondwana world heritage areas have alarmingly been singled out in a new international report from the Unesco world heritage advisory body, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

“This is yet another warning sign. Climate change is the number one threat to the unique places and wildlife that we as Australian’s cherish,” said Chief Councillor and climate scientist Professor Tim Flannery.

“The Morrison Government’s inaction on climate change is putting these places, and the Australian jobs and economies that depend on them at-risk. It will be signing the death certificate of these incredible ecosystems if it fails to act,” said Professor Flannery.

The report also drew attention to the climate change-driven ‘Black Summer’ fires, which devastated world heritage areas including the Blue Mountains and Gondwana rainforest.

“Australia has suffered through devastating bushfires, prolonged drought, a third mass bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in five years, and most recently the hottest spring ever recorded,” said Professor Flannery.

“This is what climate change looks like, and we are on the frontline here in Australia,” he said.

“To limit the devastation, we must drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions which means no new gas, but rather, we must accelerate the transition to clean and affordable renewable energy and storage technologies,” said Professor Flannery.