What the new Australian government needs to do as Great Barrier Reef suffers fourth bleaching in seven years
FirstpostThe next federal government has to phase out fossil fuel use and exports as quickly as possible, if they are serious about saving the Great Barrier Reef Widespread coral bleaching has now occurred on the Great Barrier Reef for the fourth time in seven years. Global warming means corals are already close to their bleaching threshold, and it doesn’t take much heat to tip the balance. Current Coalition emissions reduction targets of 26-28 per cent by 2030 would lead to a three degrees Celsius warmer world, which would be devastating for the Great Barrier Reef. But climate impacts are also being seen around the world – extraordinary drought gripping California, fires in melting Siberia and events scientists consider to be “virtually impossible without the influence of human-caused climate change”.