Australia said Tuesday it will fight against plans to downgrade the Great Barrier Reef's World Heritage status due to climate change, while environmentalists have applauded the UN World Heritage Committee's proposal.
The committee said in a draft report on Monday that "there is no possible doubt" that the network of colourful corals off Australia's northeast coast was "facing ascertained danger."
The report recommends that the world's most extensive coral reef ecosystem be added to UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger, which includes 53 sites, when the World Heritage Committee considers the question in China in July.
The listing could shake Australians' confidence in their government's ability to care for the natural wonder and create a role for UNESCO headquarters in devising so-called "corrective measures," which would likely include tougher action to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.
Any downgrade of the reef's World Heritage status could reduce tourism revenue that the natural wonder generates for Australia because fewer tourists would be attracted to a degraded environment and dead coral.
Reef cruise operators said the report was wrong and that tourists continued to be awed by dazzling coral and multicoloured fish. But some tourists said the reef had seemed more colourful during visits decades ago.
Environment Minister Sussan Ley said she and Foreign Minister Marise Payne had called UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay to express the government's "strong disappointment" and "bewilderment" at the proposal.
Australia, which is one of 21 countries on the committee, will oppose the listing, Ley said.
"This decision was flawed. Clearly there were politics behind it," Ley told reporters. "Clearly those politics have subverted a proper process and for the World Heritage Committee to not even foreshadow this listing is, I think, appalling."
The network of 2,500 reefs covering 348,000 square kilometres (134,000 square miles) has been World Heritage-listed since 1981.
But its health is under increasing threat from climate change and rising ocean temperatures.
The report found the site had suffered significantly from coral bleaching events caused by unusually warm ocean temperatures in 2016, 2017 and last year.
Australian Marine Conservation Society environmental consultant Imogen Zethoven welcomed the committee's recognition that "Australia hasn't done enough on climate change to protect the future of the reef."
The reef would become the first site to be added to the List of World Heritage in Danger primarily for climate change reasons, Zethoven said.
"It would be a very significant step for the World Heritage Committee to make this decision and one that we really hope that it does make because it will open up a lot of potential change," she said.
Richard Leck, a spokesman for the environmental group WWF, said listing the reef as in-danger would be "a real shock" to many Australians.
In 2014, Australia was warned that an "in danger" listing was being considered rather than being proposed for immediate action.
Australia had time to respond by developing a long-term plan to improve the reef's health called the Reef 2050 Plan.
The committee said this week that plan "requires stronger and clearer commitments, in particular towards urgently countering the effects of climate change."
Ley said climate change policy debate should be restricted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
"I know ... that climate change is the biggest threat to the reef and in no way am I stepping away from that recognition and countries including European countries have got strong views about what policies different countries should have on climate change and I understand that as well, but this is not the convention in which to have those conversations," Ley said, referring to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
Observers say the swearing in on Tuesday of new Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who opposes action on climate change that increases prices, signals Australia is likely to set less ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Terry Hughes, director of the Australian Research Council's Center for Excellence in Coral Reef Studies, said Australia's refusal to commit to a net zero carbon emissions target by 2050 made the country a "complete outlier."
"This draft decision from UNESCO is pointing the finger at Australia and saying: 'If you're serious about saving the Great Barrier Reef, you need to do something about your climate policies,"' Hughes told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
In part three of a four-part investigation into the seedy underbelly of the lucrative clothing donation bin industry, CTV W5's Jon Woodward and Joseph Loiero look into allegations that the industry is rife with organized crime activity.
Four people are dead following a fiery crash in downtown Toronto that happened overnight on Lake Shore Boulevard.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Liberal party is 'strong and united,' despite efforts from within his caucus to oust him as leader.
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He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
Trash carried by a North Korean balloon fell on the presidential compound in central Seoul on Thursday, officials said, the second such case in recent months that raise concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean sites during potential North Korean aggression.
Turkiye鈥檚 air force struck Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday in apparent retaliation for an attack at a key state-run defence company that killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others.
The Justice Department warned Elon Musk鈥檚 America PAC in recent days that his US$1 million sweepstakes to registered voters in swing states may violate federal law, people briefed on the matter told CNN.
If you鈥檙e a regular visitor to Walt Disney World, your annual passes are going to cost you more. The resort in Orlando, Fla., hiked prices on all four levels of its passes on Wednesday.
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The U.S. said Wednesday that 3,000 North Korean troops have deployed to Russia and are training at several locations, calling the move very serious and warning that those forces will be 'fair game' if they go into combat in Ukraine.
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He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
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Four people are dead following a fiery crash in downtown Toronto that happened overnight on Lake Shore Boulevard.
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Montreal Mayor Val茅rie Plante says she will quit municipal politics after serving the final year of her second term, which comes to an end in November 2025.
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A volunteer treasurer is facing charges after funds went missing from Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston鈥檚 riding.
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Southey RCMP say drivers should expect delays on Highway 6 Wednesday night after a serious crash.
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Corrections Service Canada has confirmed a women鈥檚 prison in Kitchener is in lockdown.
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Canada's discount airline is suspending operations to and from Saskatoon.
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The president and CEO of New Brunswick-based Covered Bridge Potato Chips is taking an 'extended leave of absence' after being charged with domestic violence this past weekend.
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Two B.C. RCMP officers won鈥檛 face criminal charges for their use for force that left a man who had been arrested for public intoxication with a concussion, a torn shoulder and a chunk of his hair missing 鈥 but they could face professional discipline.
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Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
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Rallies by a group called Voices Against Violence took place across the country on Monday, including Sault Ste. Marie.
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Police in western Newfoundland say a 77-year-old man visiting the province from Kansas is missing after a fire at a hotel in Deer Lake, N.L.
At 2 p.m. on Thursday, the scene at the Lions Club in Clarenville, N.L., rivalled any rowdy St. John's bar that thumps with music late on a weekend night.
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