Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses Parliament on July 26. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP) Australia is the third largest exporter of fossil fuels, after Saudi Arabia and Russia, and has among the highest per capita emissions in the world. Her previous government, under the centre-right Liberal Party, resisted action to tackle climate change. Last year, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, also known as COP26, Australia refused to join 39 countries that pledged to phase out overseas carbon funding and refused to join more than 100 nations that pledged to reduce methane emissions even as other fossil fuel producers, including the United States and Canada, signed on to the pledges. However, Australia is already experiencing the effects of climate change, including devastating fires and severe flooding from extreme rainfall events. A bulk cargo truck docked in Newcastle, Australia, on May 6. (Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg via Getty Images) But in May, the centre-left Labor Party – which had campaigned for proposed legislation such as the new bill – won a majority in parliament. Backed by Australia’s far-left Greens, the new government is expected to push the legislation through the Senate later this month. The Greens had originally proposed a 75% cut in emissions by 2030, but reluctantly agreed to support Labour’s bill as a first step towards more ambitious action. “The impact of climate change is real. We need an answer that is real,” Albanese told reporters on Thursday. The passage of the climate bill in Parliament came on a day when Australia received some good news for the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems. An Australian government report released on Thursday finds parts of the reef now have the highest levels of coral cover seen there in decades. The story continues Clownfish on an anemone on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 2014. (Kevin Boutwell via Getty Images) In a boon for the future of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia’s new government announced Thursday it will halt development of a nearby coal mine because of potential impacts on the reef. Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said government studies indicated mining sediments from the Central Queensland Coal Project would enter the ocean and damage the nearby reef. “Based on the information available to me at this stage, I believe that the project is likely to have an unacceptable impact on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the values of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and National Heritage Site,” Plibersek he said in a statement. Famous for harboring a variety of plants and animals, the reef is the largest coral reef ecosystem in the world. It represents about 10% of the world’s coral reef ecosystems and includes about 3,000 reefs, 600 continental islands and 300 coral reefs. A popular snorkeling and diving spot, it accounts for 64,000 full-time jobs, according to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. The Great Barrier Reef in 2005. (Getty Images) Climate change and other consequences of human activity have seriously damaged it in recent years. The reef “has lost half its coral cover, pollution has caused deadly starfish outbreaks and global warming has caused catastrophic coral bleaching,” according to Australia’s World Wildlife Fund. Coral bleaching occurs when the water gets too warm and the corals expel the algae that live in their tissues, causing the coral to turn completely white. The Great Barrier Reef has experienced four bleaching events since 2016. “In the wake of the fourth mass bleaching event on the reef since 2016, it is vital that new coal and gas projects like this are rejected,” Cherry Muddle, Great Barrier Reef campaigner at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, told the Guardian. However, parts of the UNESCO heritage site have increased coral cover in the past year, reaching levels not seen in 36 years of monitoring, according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science. The scientists surveyed 87 sites and found that the northern and central sections of the reef had recovered, largely thanks to the rapid growth of a branching coral known as Acropora. However, the southern part of the reef is still losing coral cover. A scuba diver explores coral on the Great Barrier Reef in 2020. (Cavan Images via Getty Images) Rising global temperatures due to the build-up of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere continue to pose a threat to the reef, scientists say. And while Australia’s first government-wide action to tackle the problem is a notable step forward, its pledge to cut emissions by 43% still falls short of pledges from the United States and the European Union. The US has pledged to cut emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030, and the EU has pledged a 55% reduction from 1990 levels.
