Keeping Reef Off In-danger List Sends ‘False Message’

The Great Barrier Reef has avoided inclusion on a global list of in-danger sites, but an expert says this does not reflect the reality of a reef in “dire straits.” The World Heritage Committee on July 25 night accepted draft recommendations to exclude the reef from its in-danger list for the third consecutive year. It noted a “step change” in Australia’s approach to climate change and marine management even as the world’s largest living structure experienced its fifth mass bleaching event in eight years during the 2023-24 summer. University of Queensland marine studies professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg labelled it a political decision designed to take pressure off governments....