Australia 'stunned' by Great Barrier Reef report
Australia's government has lashed out after a US report claimed it hadn't done enough to protect the Great Barrier Reef from climate change.
UN body Unesco said the reef ought to be put on a set of World Heritage Sites that are "in peril" because of the damage it has suffered.
Key targets on improving water quality had not been met, it said.
Environment minister Sussan Ley said UN authorities had reneged on past assurances.
She confirmed that Australia planned to challenge the listing, which would happen at a meeting the following month, saying: "Clearly there have been politics behind it; obviously those politics have subverted an effective process." The World Heritage Committee is a 12-nation group chaired by China, which has had a vexed diplomatic relationship with Canberra recently. The year when Australia and China hit 'lowest ebb'
"Climate change may be the single biggest threat to all or any of the world's reef ecosystems... and there are 83 natural World Heritage properties facing climate change threats so it is not fair to simply select Australia," said Ms Ley.
Environmental groups say the UN's decision highlights Australia's weak climate action, however. "The recommendation from Unesco is clear and unequivocal that the Australian government is not doing enough to safeguard our greatest natural asset, especially on climate change," said Richard Leck, Head of Oceans for the GLOBALLY Fund for Nature-Australia. The most recent row is part of a continuing dispute between Unesco and Australia over the status of the iconic site. The reef, stretching for 2,300km (1,400 miles) off Australia's north-east coast, gained World Heritage ranking in 1981 because of its "enormous scientific and intrinsic importance".
