Unesco recommends against Great Barrier Reef ‘in danger’ listing but Australia warned more action needed

UN scientific advisors noted Labor’s legislation on net zero emissions but said the Great Barrier Reef needed further protection from the climate crisis. Photograph: Jumbo Aerial Photography/Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority via AP

UN scientific advisors have recommended the Great Barrier Reef not be placed on a list of world heritage sites “in danger” but stressed the planet’s biggest coral reef system remains under “serious threat” from global heating and water pollution.

Unesco said in a report that the Australian government had taken positive steps to protect the reef since a UN monitoring mission visited Queensland in March last year.