Australia has labelled a draft decision by the UN's World Heritage Committee to include the Great Barrier Reef on its "in danger" list as politically motivated.
The committee, which is chaired by Tian Xuejun, China's vice-minister for education, and selects Unesco World Heritage sites, proposed adding the world's largest collection of coral reefs to the danger list because of the damaging impact of climate change and coastal development.
The designation could ultimately lead to the reef losing its World Heritage status, although officials said listing was intended to prompt emergency action to safeguard a living structure that stretches 2,300km along Australia’s eastern coast.
But Sussan Ley, Australia's environment minister, said the government had been "blindsided" by the committee's finding and alleged there was a lack of consultation and transparency. She added that Canberra would challenge the draft decision.
“When procedures are not followed, when the process is turned on its head five minutes before the draft decision is due to be published, when the assurances my officials received and indeed I did have been upended, what else can you conclude but that it is politics?” she said.
That the World Heritage Committee is chaired by a senior Chinese official has stoked suspicions in Canberra that it had been singled out over its diplomatic and trade clash with Beijing.
China-Australia relations have soured following Canberra’s call last year for an inquiry into the origins of Covid-19 and Beijing’s imposition of tariffs on Australian wine and barley imports.
Ms Ley said she and Marise Payne, Australia's foreign minister, had already spoken with Audrey Azoulay, Unesco director-general, to complain about the draft decision.
But scientists downplayed the suggestion that the “in danger” listing was politically motivated. Three mass bleaching events in five years demonstrated the need for the government to do more to tackle climate change, they said.
"I'm seeing some press coverage saying this is all a plot by China not to buy wine, lobsters and to screw the Barrier Reef. I think that's pretty far-fetched given that the draft decision released overnight will be voted on by 21 countries," said Terry Hughes, professor of marine biology at James Cook University.
‘Bleaching event’
The controversy will heap further international pressure on Australia, which has been pressed by the US, UK and others to commit to a national target of net-zero emissions by 2050.
In a draft decision due to be voted on next month, the committee urged Australia to “provide clear commitments to address threats from climate change, in conformity with the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, and allow to meet water quality targets faster”.
It noted the loss of almost one-third of shallow-water coral cover following a “bleaching” event in 2016 – a process linked to warmer than normal water that can lead to a mass die-off of coral.
The row over the “in danger” listing occurred at a difficult time for Australia’s conservative coalition, which is embroiled in internal squabbling over climate policies.
On Monday, Barnaby Joyce, a climate sceptic and supporter of coal mining, ousted Michael McCormack to become leader of the National Party, the junior coalition partner to the Liberal Party, and Australia's deputy prime minister. Mr Joyce is expected to oppose any move to commit to net zero by 2050. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2021