ScoMo Is Sending Ambassadors On A Snorkelling Trip To Prove The Great Barrier Reef Isn’t Dying
The Federal Government is flying intentional ambassadors from the World Heritage Committee to the Great Barrier in a bid to prevent it from being added to the World Heritage In Danger List.
Ambassadors from more than a dozen countries will be flown to the Great Barrier Reef this Thursday for a snorkelling trip, in a bid to prevent it from being added to UNESCO’s World Heritage In Danger List, according to The Guardian.
Nine of the countries have voting rights on the World Heritage Committee, which is overseen by China, and meets once a year to implement the World Heritage Convention. The two-week online convention starting this Friday.
Environment minister Sussan Ley rushes to Europe to prevent the Great Barrier Reef which is in danger from being listed as “in danger” by UNESCO. Qld also thinks it’s important that a World Heritage area that is in danger is not listed as “in danger”. Got that? @RNBreakfast
— Ellen Fanning:Journo (@ellenmfanning) July 13, 2021
A UNESCO report released in June which discusses the protection of World Heritage sites said the long-term outlook for the Great Barrier Reef had “deteriorated from poor to very poor and that climate change remains the most serious threat for the property.”
“Despite many positive achievements … progress has been insufficient in meeting key targets of the Reef 2050 Plan,” the report reads, calling for urgent action to counter the effects of climate change.
The warning of being added to the In Danger list was backed by five of the world’s leading reef and climate scientists.
But the Australian Government is pushing back against the potential “In Danger” status, launching what the Guardian has called “an all out lobbying offensive”.
Oh great. Sussan Ley couldn’t stay at home and zoom into UNESCO meetings. She’s flown to Europe to lobby against putting the Great Barrier Reef into the danger category.
First stop Budapest. Must be nice.
*starts Mission Impossible theme
— Paul Meek (@PaulMeekPerth) July 13, 2021
The official reef ambassador Warren Entsch will take the representatives, including those from Russia, Spain, Brazil and Hungary, to visit Agincourt Reef.
(Side note, are all of these people going through hotel quarantine? Don’t we still have Australians stuck overseas?)
The Guardian reports they will be accompanied by officials from the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, along with Indigenous rangers.
“It’s important countries that are voting on this need to be able to say they have put their head under the water and have spoken to world experts. Then they can make their own decision. This is good practice and this is what should be happening,” Entsch said.
On Tuesday, Queensland Premiere Annastacia Palaszczuk wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison on requesting “new and united action”, in a letter seen by the Brisbane Times.
She called for $2 billion for energy and emissions-reduction projects in Queensland to safeguard tens of thousands of jobs that rely on the reef.
The only thing this government is interested in saving is their reputation. And they won’t manage to do that, either.
— Jane Caro (@JaneCaro) July 13, 2021
Will the great jewel of Australia be added to sad list? Depends on how that snorkelling trip goes.