I think we will solve the problem if we get up and fight to solve the problem,
Urgent global action is necessary to reduce future bleaching events, primarily driven by carbon emissions,
I do get depressed sometimes, because the feeling is like, 'My God, this is happening,
This is scary, because coral reefs are so important,
We have less time ... to make the changes,
We don't know yet if they've already sustained too much damage to recover or not,
The cumulative impacts experienced across the reef this summer have been higher than previous summers,
The Great Barrier Reef is an incredible ecosystem, and while it has shown its resilience time and time again, this summer has been particularly challenging,
Climate change is the by far the greatest threat to coral reefs globally and it’s a growing threat – and, not withstanding the objectives of the Paris climate agreement, we continue to emit greenhouse gases more than we used to.”
This cumulative story is really important and across most of the reef we will see consequences,
Over all the sources of potential stress across the whole reef, yes, the exposure this summer is really high in most places,
We have seen [coral] mortality from flooding, from cyclones and from heat stress.”
That’s lethal levels of heat exposure at tourism hotspots along the length of the GBR and we have never seen anything like that,
It’s absolutely shocking. This has not ended yet and it remains to be seen how bad it will be.”
This prolonged heat exposure has caused mass bleaching of coral reef communities observed within all three regions of the Great Barrier Reef,
Only the strongest and fastest possible actions to decrease global greenhouse gas emissions will reduce the risks of thermal stress on the Reef and limit the impacts from climate change on the Great Barrier Reef,
This is one of the most extensive bleaching events the Reef has experienced in AIMS’ nearly 40 years of monitoring,
We’re calling on the prime minister to commit to a federal emissions reduction target of at least 90 per cent below 2005 levels by 2035, stop approving new fossil fuel projects, and support the worldwide push for a global treaty to phase out all fossil fuels,
What worries me is that we will end up with a bleaching event where there’s a high level of mortality in the northern, central and southern regions of the reef,
Are we faced with a colossal ecosystem tragedy?