THE AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE CRISIS

The report asserts that Australia's climate policies and fossil fuel exports are causing the deterioration of the Great Barrier Reef's Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). It argues that Australia is failing its obligations under the World Heritage Convention by not pursuing a well-below-1.5°C pathway and relying on 'legally baseless' carryover credits to meet emissions targets. The document calls for the Great Barrier Reef to be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger and for the Australian government to phase out fossil fuel production and exports.

• The Great Barrier Reef's ecosystem outlook is 'very poor,' with its overall integrity and four natural heritage values deteriorating since 2014. Key species and habitats, including corals, marine turtles, and dugongs, are in 'poor' or 'very poor' condition.
• Climate change, specifically rising sea temperatures, is the primary threat to the Reef. Consecutive bleaching events in 2016 and 2017 killed approximately half of the shallow-water corals, and February 2020 recorded the hottest sea surface temperatures ever on the Reef.
• To protect the Great Barrier Reef's Outstanding Universal Value, global warming must be limited to well below 1.5°C. At the current trajectory toward 3°C of warming by 2100, the Reef as it exists today will cease to exist.
• Other Australian World Heritage properties are also suffering from climate-exacerbated events; specifically, wildfires in late 2019 and early 2020 burned 80% of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and 54% of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area.
• Australia is not on track to meet its 2020 or 2030 emissions targets under the UNFCCC. Greenhouse gas emissions (excluding land use, land-use change, and forestry) rose every year from 2014 to 2018.
• Australia's use of carryover credits from the Kyoto Protocol to meet Paris Agreement targets is described as a 'legally baseless ploy' that allows the country to avoid real emissions reductions through technical accounting anomalies.
• Australia is one of the world's two largest coal exporters and the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Combined domestic and exported fossil fuel emissions make Australia responsible for 5% of global fossil fuel emissions despite having only 0.3% of the world's population.
• The Australian government continues to promote fossil fuels, including plans to open the Galilee Basin for at least six coal mines and spending AUD$4 million on a feasibility study for a new coal plant in early 2020.
• Australia's per-capita domestic emissions are among the highest globally and are more than double the average for G20 member countries.
• The Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan is criticized for failing to address climate change threats beyond inadequate government policy and for remaining silent on the impact of fossil fuel exports.

APA

Earthjustice (2020). THE AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE CRISIS. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/australian-climate-crisis-great-barrier-reef_june2020.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. THE AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE CRISIS. 2020. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/australian-climate-crisis-great-barrier-reef_june2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Earthjustice |title=THE AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE CRISIS |date=June 2020 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/australian-climate-crisis-great-barrier-reef_june2020.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{earthjustice2020australian, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{THE AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE CRISIS}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/australian-climate-crisis-great-barrier-reef_june2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }