Extract from The Guardian
Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef must accept that climate change is
damaging the reef, say Climate Council chief and university expert
Scientists and conservationists have called for a purportedly
pro-environmental group supporting the Great Barrier Reef to distance
itself from climate deniers, after the broadcaster Alan Jones launched the group and said the reef was “fine” and that climate change was a “hoax”.
The calls come as details emerged regarding links between the group, called Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, and the former environment minister Greg Hunt, whose department sought to minimise publicity about the danger climate change posed to the reef.
Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef describes itself as an educational and crowdfunding website, where members can contribute money and vote to direct funds to particular research projects.
But launching Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef this week, Jones took a swipe at groups that have campaigned to save the reef, including the Climate Council, WWF and Greenpeace, for “climate alarmism”.
“The global warming alarmists will stop at nothing,” Jones said on his radio in a special broadcast from Cairns, after taking a helicopter ride over the reef. “Like much associated with the global warming hoax, truth was the casualty.”
Jones said the reef was fine, and that it would regenerate.
The chief executive of the Climate Council, Amanda McKenzie, told Guardian Australia the group must set the record straight. “They need to immediately come out and distance themselves from those comments and make clear what their approach is to climate change and the reef and what their attitudes will be to educating people about the reef – because that’s one of their main aims.”
Terry Hughes, head of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University took to twitter, also calling for the group to distance itself from climate deniers.
McKenzie said the group needed to make clear what the attitude was on climate change. “If you’re going to educate people on the reef, it’s not just educating people about its beauty and tourism opportunities, you’ve also got to talk about the threats and it’s in grave danger from climate change.”
Alex de Waal, chairman of the Citizens for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, initially told Guardian Australia that “Alan Jones hasn’t been engaged to launch the initiative”.
“Anybody that comes to us that says we want to tell the community about the Citizens for the Great Barrier Reef program, we are very encouraging,” he said.
But a spokesperson for Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef said Jones had been invited to launch the initiative, and the group put out a press release announcing his involvement.
De Waal said the group had not decided what criteria it would use to choose which educational and research projects would be highlighted on its $1m website, but that the board would make those decisions.
Asked directly whether they would allow projects that highlighted climate change, a spokeswoman for the project said: “The board has not yet met to discuss the objectives, but the directors will consider any project that will have a positive impact on the Reef.”
De Waal is also chief executive of Tourism Tropical North Queensland, the lobby group for the region’s tourism industry.
In April the Cairns Post reported de Waal saying that reports of bleaching needed to be tempered by reports about what is happening to parts of the reef that weren’t being bleached.
And in June, de Waal told the Guardian that reporting of the bleaching was affecting tourist numbers in Queensland.
Also in June, de Waal said on the Tourism Tropical North Queensland website that the then-environment minister Greg Hunt had worked with the local Coalition member, Warren Entsch, to secure $1.3m in funding for Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef.
In return, de Waal said Tourism Tropical North Queensland endorsed Entsch in the election.
That announcement came one month after the Guardian revealed that Hunt’s department had moved to have every reference to the Great Barrier Reef, and Australia, scrubbed from a United Nations report on climate change.
An environment department spokesperson told Guardian Australia at the time that it did that because such a report could hurt tourism. Within hours of the Guardian’s revelation, Hunt went on The Project and applauded the department for its actions.
Others in the tourism industry, like Col McKenzie, the chief executive of the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators, were also concerned about reports linking climate change to the Great Barrier Reef. McKenzie said reports were exaggerated and was a “great white lie”.
Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef lists a number of partners, most of which are tourism bodies. But James Cook University and the Great Barrier Reef marine park authority (GBRMPA) are also listed.
A spokesman for James Cook University said it would be providing educational materials for people who sign up to the initiative, and directed further enquiries to de Waal.
A spokeswoman for GBRMPA said it would be “looking for opportunities to work together on projects that encourage actions to improve the health of the reef”.
“Along with other parties, we provided initial advice to Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef on potential methodology for deciding which research and conservation projects are detailed on their website,” she said.
Asked whether GBRMPA was concerned about Jones’ comments at the initiative’s launch, the spokeswoman said: “We reiterate the findings of our 2009 and 2014 Outlook Reports — both of which stated that climate change is the most serious threat to the health of the Great Barrier Reef.”
She continued: “Preliminary findings from this year’s coral bleaching indicate 22 per cent of coral died as a direct result of unusually high sea temperatures brought about by climate change, a strong El Niño and local conditions. Reducing global greenhouse gas emissions represents the single biggest action we can take as a community to protect the reef for current and future generations.”
The calls come as details emerged regarding links between the group, called Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, and the former environment minister Greg Hunt, whose department sought to minimise publicity about the danger climate change posed to the reef.
Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef describes itself as an educational and crowdfunding website, where members can contribute money and vote to direct funds to particular research projects.
But launching Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef this week, Jones took a swipe at groups that have campaigned to save the reef, including the Climate Council, WWF and Greenpeace, for “climate alarmism”.
“The global warming alarmists will stop at nothing,” Jones said on his radio in a special broadcast from Cairns, after taking a helicopter ride over the reef. “Like much associated with the global warming hoax, truth was the casualty.”
Jones said the reef was fine, and that it would regenerate.
The chief executive of the Climate Council, Amanda McKenzie, told Guardian Australia the group must set the record straight. “They need to immediately come out and distance themselves from those comments and make clear what their approach is to climate change and the reef and what their attitudes will be to educating people about the reef – because that’s one of their main aims.”
Terry Hughes, head of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University took to twitter, also calling for the group to distance itself from climate deniers.
McKenzie said the group needed to make clear what the attitude was on climate change. “If you’re going to educate people on the reef, it’s not just educating people about its beauty and tourism opportunities, you’ve also got to talk about the threats and it’s in grave danger from climate change.”
Alex de Waal, chairman of the Citizens for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, initially told Guardian Australia that “Alan Jones hasn’t been engaged to launch the initiative”.
“Anybody that comes to us that says we want to tell the community about the Citizens for the Great Barrier Reef program, we are very encouraging,” he said.
But a spokesperson for Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef said Jones had been invited to launch the initiative, and the group put out a press release announcing his involvement.
De Waal said the group had not decided what criteria it would use to choose which educational and research projects would be highlighted on its $1m website, but that the board would make those decisions.
Asked directly whether they would allow projects that highlighted climate change, a spokeswoman for the project said: “The board has not yet met to discuss the objectives, but the directors will consider any project that will have a positive impact on the Reef.”
De Waal is also chief executive of Tourism Tropical North Queensland, the lobby group for the region’s tourism industry.
In April the Cairns Post reported de Waal saying that reports of bleaching needed to be tempered by reports about what is happening to parts of the reef that weren’t being bleached.
And in June, de Waal told the Guardian that reporting of the bleaching was affecting tourist numbers in Queensland.
Also in June, de Waal said on the Tourism Tropical North Queensland website that the then-environment minister Greg Hunt had worked with the local Coalition member, Warren Entsch, to secure $1.3m in funding for Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef.
In return, de Waal said Tourism Tropical North Queensland endorsed Entsch in the election.
That announcement came one month after the Guardian revealed that Hunt’s department had moved to have every reference to the Great Barrier Reef, and Australia, scrubbed from a United Nations report on climate change.
An environment department spokesperson told Guardian Australia at the time that it did that because such a report could hurt tourism. Within hours of the Guardian’s revelation, Hunt went on The Project and applauded the department for its actions.
Others in the tourism industry, like Col McKenzie, the chief executive of the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators, were also concerned about reports linking climate change to the Great Barrier Reef. McKenzie said reports were exaggerated and was a “great white lie”.
Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef lists a number of partners, most of which are tourism bodies. But James Cook University and the Great Barrier Reef marine park authority (GBRMPA) are also listed.
A spokesman for James Cook University said it would be providing educational materials for people who sign up to the initiative, and directed further enquiries to de Waal.
A spokeswoman for GBRMPA said it would be “looking for opportunities to work together on projects that encourage actions to improve the health of the reef”.
“Along with other parties, we provided initial advice to Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef on potential methodology for deciding which research and conservation projects are detailed on their website,” she said.
Asked whether GBRMPA was concerned about Jones’ comments at the initiative’s launch, the spokeswoman said: “We reiterate the findings of our 2009 and 2014 Outlook Reports — both of which stated that climate change is the most serious threat to the health of the Great Barrier Reef.”
She continued: “Preliminary findings from this year’s coral bleaching indicate 22 per cent of coral died as a direct result of unusually high sea temperatures brought about by climate change, a strong El Niño and local conditions. Reducing global greenhouse gas emissions represents the single biggest action we can take as a community to protect the reef for current and future generations.”
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