{"id":335184,"date":"2024-06-29T17:11:27","date_gmt":"2024-06-29T15:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=335184"},"modified":"2024-06-29T17:11:29","modified_gmt":"2024-06-29T15:11:29","slug":"after-a-trillion-tons-of-co2-the-great-barrier-reef-hits-record-coral-cover-third-year-in-a-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=335184","title":{"rendered":"After a trillion tons of CO2, the Great Barrier Reef hits record coral cover third year in a row"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From JoNova <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jo Nova<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sixty percent of all human CO2 emissions<\/a> have been emitted since 1985 but today the corals are healthier than ever<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In 1985 humans were emitting only 19.6 billion tons of CO2 each year, and now we emit 37 billion tons. In the meantime AIMS have been dragging divers thousands of kilometers over the reefs to inspect the coral cover. These are the most detailed underwater surveys on the largest reef system in the world, and they show that far from being bleached to hell, the corals are more abundant than we have ever seen them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Peter Ridd points out, when the reef was doing badly, AIMS was happy to combine the data on the whole reef, so we could lament its demise. But lately AIMS splits it into separate sections and if Peter Ridd didn\u2019t check the numbers, who would know it was a record across the full 2,300 kilometer length of the reef? And that may be exactly the point. As Ridd reminds us, in 2012 the AIMS team predicted the coral cover in the central and southern regions would decline to 5 \u2013 10 percent cover by 2022. Instead the whole reef is thriving at 30 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile preposterous power games continue<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

UNESCO has been threatening to slap an endangered label on the reef for years. They would have looked ridiculous if they had done this whilst corals were at a record high. But that didn\u2019t stop them demanding tribute and conditions anyway, as if Australia can\u2019t manage the reef by itself. Our Prime Minister should have laughed at them and cut UN funding until they start making sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resilient Great Barrier Reef fights back<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By Graham Lloyd, The Australian<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UNESCO recommendation that the World Heritage Committee not proscribe the reef as \u201cin danger\u201d at its meeting next month no doubt has come as a big relief for government but it still has plenty of strings attached. To keep favour with UNESCO, governments must ban all gillnet fishing by mid-2027 and more closely supervise land activities stretching hundreds of kilometres inland from the coastline, and further still from the reef itself. It must also keep the billions of dollars flowing for research and reef management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Who runs the country, is it our elected government or a foreign committee at the service of third world dictators?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Greens, unfortunately, still struggle with big-numbers, or any numbers at all:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Greens say the UNESCO decision is a \u201ctriumph of lobbying and spin over science\u201d.  \u201cThe burning of fossil fuels is \u00adliterally cooking our oceans and degrading marine ecosystems across the globe, and nowhere else has this been more politicised than on the Great Barrier Reef,\u201d says Greens spokesman Senator Peter Whish-Wilson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And who is politicizing The Great Barrier Reef more than The hyperbolic Greens themselves? No wonder Greens voters were the most confused in the AEF survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten years after our corals hit a record low, our survey showed that half the country didn\u2019t realize the reef has recovered<\/a>. Only 3% knew the corals were at a record high, and nearly half the Green voters were as wrong as they possibly could be \u2014 they thought coral cover was at a record low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The full AIMS report will be released in August. There have been some bleaching events both before and after the survey, and as is normal, we won\u2019t know for months whether any corals actually died or whether it  was just the normal home renovation that corals go through when they get stressed. It\u2019s common for corals to throw out the zooanthellae as temperatures change and let in newer house-guests that are better acclimatized. Since sea levels <\/a>near Queensland <\/a>were 1 -2 meters high<\/a>er 6,000 years ago, and the world was a lot warmer, corals can clearly look after themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Peter Ridd says the biggest threats to the reef are cyclones and crown-of-thorns starfish plagues, neither of which appear to be any worse now than they were years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REFERENCES<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cumulative CO\u2082 emissions by world region<\/a>: OWID (CO2 cumulative emissions were 687 bt in 1985 and 1,700 billion by 2022)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sixty percent of all human CO2 emissions have been emitted since 1985 but today the corals are healthier than ever<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":335189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818076,691821787,691821661,691822484,691821662],"class_list":["post-335184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-co2","tag-corals","tag-dr-peter-ridd-2","tag-great-barrier-reef-gbr","tag-unesco","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/00E011_rt-featured.jpg?fit=2200%2C1294&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1pcc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":289282,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=289282","url_meta":{"origin":335184,"position":0},"title":"Corals\u2019 Fantastic Recovery Exonerates Skeptical Scientists\u2019 Coral Analyses!","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/30\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jim Steele A coral survey ending in May 2022 found that despite decades of worrisome bleaching the northern and central Great Barrier Reef recorded their highest amount of coral cover since the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) began monitoring 37 years ago. Bleaching does not mean coral mortality.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"climate propaganda\"","block_context":{"text":"climate propaganda","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-propaganda"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/00GACXB-HbYAI6XZF.jpeg?fit=874%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/00GACXB-HbYAI6XZF.jpeg?fit=874%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/00GACXB-HbYAI6XZF.jpeg?fit=874%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/00GACXB-HbYAI6XZF.jpeg?fit=874%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":242506,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=242506","url_meta":{"origin":335184,"position":1},"title":"Desert dusts convert coral reefs into carbon storage","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/31\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"An international study comparing data from Heron Reef and the Middle East's Gulf of Aqaba has disproved the long-held theory that coral reefs only have the capacity to emit CO2.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1358.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1358.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1358.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1358.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1358.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":254737,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=254737","url_meta":{"origin":335184,"position":2},"title":"Great Barrier Reef in record coral cover but 97% of Australians don\u2019t know it","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/26\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Australian taxpayers pay institutions to give them accurate information. It\u2019s supposedly the reason the ABC and SBS exist. This also reflects badly on agencies like AIMS, GBRMPA,\u00a0 the CSIRO, the BOM and the universities with specialist teams of marine biologists (like James Cook Uni). They are all letting the nation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Australia\"","block_context":{"text":"Australia","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=australia"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0Australian-Government-Gets-More-Involved-Great-Barrier-Reef-to-Receive-Life-Support.jpg?fit=1200%2C706&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0Australian-Government-Gets-More-Involved-Great-Barrier-Reef-to-Receive-Life-Support.jpg?fit=1200%2C706&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0Australian-Government-Gets-More-Involved-Great-Barrier-Reef-to-Receive-Life-Support.jpg?fit=1200%2C706&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0Australian-Government-Gets-More-Involved-Great-Barrier-Reef-to-Receive-Life-Support.jpg?fit=1200%2C706&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0Australian-Government-Gets-More-Involved-Great-Barrier-Reef-to-Receive-Life-Support.jpg?fit=1200%2C706&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":409097,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=409097","url_meta":{"origin":335184,"position":3},"title":"Australia\u2019s ABC News Claim: \u2018We\u2019ve Hit a Climate Change Tipping Point\u2019","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/19\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Purported climate change tipping points are much in the news around the world. 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Could a two-degree change in water temperature knock out a species that has survived for more than 40 million years?","rel":"","context":"In \"CO2\"","block_context":{"text":"CO2","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=co2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00Coral-reef-13.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00Coral-reef-13.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00Coral-reef-13.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00Coral-reef-13.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/00Coral-reef-13.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":412478,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=412478","url_meta":{"origin":335184,"position":5},"title":"Germany\u2019s EIKE Institute Calls \u201cGlobal Tipping Points Report\u201d Overly Fixated on CO2","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Klimaschau 235, presented by the Germany-based European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE) analyzes the new \u201cGlobal Tipping Points Report 2025\u201d and puts the alarmist reports into perspective.","rel":"","context":"In \"1.5\u00b0C warming limit\"","block_context":{"text":"1.5\u00b0C warming limit","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=1-5c-warming-limit"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQNpXvcnNxizhuIQdTy4hmUX43mNEZxBYn5x1nVeUP9ytPBttvg66Go4gGB01t6U5vZmDgrAw5Gm88fUPyShaOoFVBYju0iq_pw2f62s3C2s1wKZ5iG7qu8-fLD7N9Dv.jpeg?fit=1200%2C669&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQNpXvcnNxizhuIQdTy4hmUX43mNEZxBYn5x1nVeUP9ytPBttvg66Go4gGB01t6U5vZmDgrAw5Gm88fUPyShaOoFVBYju0iq_pw2f62s3C2s1wKZ5iG7qu8-fLD7N9Dv.jpeg?fit=1200%2C669&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQNpXvcnNxizhuIQdTy4hmUX43mNEZxBYn5x1nVeUP9ytPBttvg66Go4gGB01t6U5vZmDgrAw5Gm88fUPyShaOoFVBYju0iq_pw2f62s3C2s1wKZ5iG7qu8-fLD7N9Dv.jpeg?fit=1200%2C669&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQNpXvcnNxizhuIQdTy4hmUX43mNEZxBYn5x1nVeUP9ytPBttvg66Go4gGB01t6U5vZmDgrAw5Gm88fUPyShaOoFVBYju0iq_pw2f62s3C2s1wKZ5iG7qu8-fLD7N9Dv.jpeg?fit=1200%2C669&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQNpXvcnNxizhuIQdTy4hmUX43mNEZxBYn5x1nVeUP9ytPBttvg66Go4gGB01t6U5vZmDgrAw5Gm88fUPyShaOoFVBYju0iq_pw2f62s3C2s1wKZ5iG7qu8-fLD7N9Dv.jpeg?fit=1200%2C669&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=335184"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":335190,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335184\/revisions\/335190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/335189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=335184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=335184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=335184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}