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Subject:
Our Great Barrier Reef needs stronger climate targets
I’m contacting you as someone who cares deeply about the future of the beautiful Great Barrier Reef and is worried about its future. Climate change is the greatest threat to our Reef. Without bigger ambition to slash greenhouse gas emissions this decade, the Reef will be irreversibly damaged. There is still time to turn things around for our cherished global icon, and the 64 000 jobs a healthy Reef supports but time is of the essence and that window is closing fast. The Queensland Energy and Jobs plan is an encouraging start to addressing climate change and I welcome this bold initiative. However, it is only addressing energy emissions and further urgent climate action is needed to safeguard the future of our Reef. As a proud custodian of our global treasure, I urge you to commit to double your emissions reduction target to at least 60% on 2005 levels by 2030 and scale up ambition to reduce pollution by 70% by 2032 and 90% by 2035. These steps will help hold warming to 1.5 degrees - a temperature threshold for the survival of coral reefs. Queensland is one of the largest emitters of carbon emissions per capita in the world yet still has one of the lowest emissions reductions targets in the country. Queensland must play a leading role in lowering the emissions that cause damaging marine heatwaves and coral bleaching. Our Reef has suffered four mass bleaching events since 2016, driven by global heating. In 2022 the first mass bleaching event occurred during a La Nina weather event, which is typically characterised by cooler cloudier conditions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) latest report said that globally, coral bleaching conditions are projected to occur every five years from 2035, after which time the frequency would depend on how quickly we reined in emissions. If emissions remained high, bleaching could occur every year from 2044, giving the Reef no time to recover between bleaching events. We must rapidly lock in climate policies that limit warming to 1.5 degrees to help prevent the worst climate impacts and give the Reef the best chance of survival. The future of our Reef is in your hands. Queenslanders want climate action and they want to ensure our Reef survives as a beautiful healthy ecosystem that supports unique marine life and our way of life. Queensland has a responsibility to be leading on emissions reduction. The faster we cut emissions, the more climate damage to beautiful places like the Reef we can avoid. Thank you.
Yes, send me updates from Australian Marine Conservation Society
No, do not send me updates from Australian Marine Conservation Society
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