Speaking out in defence of science: Great Barrier Reef & climate change

01.06.16 By
This article is more than 7 years old

An update from Climate Councillor Prof. Will Steffen:


Last Friday, news broke that Australian government officials pressured UNESCO to censor a report on climate change and the Great Barrier Reef.

In case you missed it, here’s a quick recap: Last year I was asked to review an international scientific report on the impacts of climate change on World Heritage sites and tourism, including a case study on the Great Barrier Reef.

When the report was released on Friday – mysteriously, the Great Barrier Reef had been cut entirely.

I was completely outraged.

However, our community banded together to get the word out far and wide.

We reached millions of Australians via 260 media stories, including 50 big international stories.






And did you see that interview with Minister Hunt on The Project?

That’s the power of our citizen-funded Climate Council.

Because the Council is funded by our community, we can be independent from governments of all stripes – and we can speak out in defence of science.

Just a few thousand Australians chipping in enables us to be one of the leading voices on climate change in the Australian media. This week, that’s really held the Government accountable when it tried to censor scientific information on climate change.

If you’re not already a supporter of the Climate Council, you can join us here.

Onwards,

Prof. Will Steffen