Brisbane, 20 April 2016 – The Great Barrier Reef is suffering from an unprecedented level of bleaching with only 7% of the Reef free from the impacts of climate change, driving home the need for the Australia to go coal free, Greenpeace Australia Pacific said today.

The ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies today announced only 7% of the Great Barrier Reef has avoided coral bleaching and that surveys of the northern Reef show 50-90% mortality from corals that have bleached.

“This is heartbreaking news that the Australian Government must act on. It’s not good enough for them to say they care about the Reef while they keep backing the coal industry and avoid tackling climate change,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific reef campaigner Shani Tager.

“The most pristine part of the Great Barrier Reef is on the brink of permanent damage. Now is the time to act, to put the brakes on the coal industry before this sort of devastating bleaching becomes an annual event.

“Mining and burning coal is driving climate change and warming our waters and the Reef is getting more and more fragile as a result,” said Ms Tager.