Researchers back move to list Great Barrier Reef as endangered

Environment minister criticises Unesco recommendation but researchers call for scientific rather than political response

Australian scientists have appealed for science, not politics, to inform the debate over a proposal to list Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef as “endangered”.

A report from the UN science agency Unesco this month recommended that the reef be put on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The report cited Australia’s slow action on climate change, which it said was affecting the reef.