Great Barrier Reef living on borrowed time

Two experts — one from UNESCO and the other from the IUCN — met with Australian government officials, scientists and stakeholders in Queensland in March, two months before the Morrison government was defeated in the election.

The UNESCO/IUCN report, which took almost six months to prepare, put forward 10 priority recommendations it said needed to be addressed "with utmost urgency".

"Implementing the recommendations could drastically improve (Australia's) ability to ensure and advance conservation of the reef and retain its 'outstanding universal value' for future generations," the report said.

The government's Reef 2050 plan needs to be strengthened before the end of this year to include "clear government commitments to reduce greenhouse emissions consistent with the efforts required to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels", the report added.

The Albanese government has put forward an improved national target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, and to reach net zero by 2050.

Independent analysis has found Australia's new target consistent with keeping warming to 2 C — above the 1.5 C goal seen as critical for the reef's long-term health.

But the question remains: Will this be enough to keep the reef off the list?

Since 2010, the World Heritage Committee has raised concerns that activities within the Great Barrier Reef and its surrounding coastal areas are "irrevocably threatening "the future of the reef.

As far back as 2013, the committee wanted to place the reef on its List of World Heritage in Danger, but the Australian and Queensland governments managed to fend off each attempt to do so.

When the UNESCO/IUCN report was released, Anna Marsden, Great Barrier Reef Foundation managing director, said it "confirms what science has been telling us for some time" — that the Great Barrier Reef is under increasing pressure from climate change, poor water quality and crown-of-thorns starfish. Also known as COTS, these marine invertebrates feed on coral.

"We know our window to act is closing. It's why we show up every day, ready to do whatever it takes to protect and restore the reef and help it adapt to rising temperatures and other threats," Marsden said.

"We're working with more than 500 partners on the ground, in the water and in the lab, finding and growing bold, innovative and practical solutions to some of the most complex ecological challenges of our time."

UNESCO's report focuses only on the Great Barrier Reef, she said, adding, "It is important to state that the threats our reef faces are shared by every coral reef in the world.

"This is an ecosystem-wide challenge, not one only felt by Australia. If ever there was a time to come together for the world's coral reefs and oceans, it is now. We must all act — they need us now more than ever."