Scientists dispute Morrison government claim to UN its Great Barrier Reef approach ‘second to none’

Conservationists say the Great Barrier Reef needs more protection and the government’s record in cutting emissions is inadequate. Photograph: VW Pics/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

A Morrison government report to the United Nations on the status of the Great Barrier Reef claims its approach to tackling climate change is among the best in the world and its management of the reef was “second to none”.

But conservationists and scientists immediately hit back at the claim, saying the reef needed more protection and the government’s record in cutting emissions and cutting pollution over it was inadequate.