---
title: Reef a 'checkerboard' from bleaching, Australia not on board with action
description: The future of the Great Barrier Reef hangs in the balance due to global warming, with only 2% of the entire reef escaping bleaching in the past 30 years.
---
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The Canopy is a weekday morning email newsletter provided by the team at Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
# Reef a 'checkerboard' from bleaching, Australia not on board with action
Friday, 5 November 2021
The future of the Great Barrier Reef hangs in the balance due to global warming, with only 2 per cent of the entire reef escaping bleaching in the past 30 years.
Australia is clinging to coal, opting out of a pledge by almost 200 nations — and a further 23 at COP26 — to phase out the use of coal-fired power in the 2030s and 2040s.
Australia has been labelled a climate change "pariah" during an explosive episode of Q+A, with climate justice lawyer Kavita Naidu saying Australia is playing with numbers instead of stepping up.
[‘It is fairly dire’: Only 2 per cent of Great Barrier Reef still unbleached](http://link.newsletter.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=76fKcEeh4PVItpSA9Cs-2FOEMGnd77r-2F-2FG-2BxtUbsljffpOmNl6jT-2BkMchtskQWQbf-2Bjq05Yvir-2FGufDy8WoRaciccYH8JK4p2LJM6aXaNeH253BpBHMJQqPpAn84P9xLZkusLT4zccQRhLN31ypyU5dgTEYFF5WoX9cH5bfcyVfPEgDTq0nR-2FusyWbFfAJ8HGUWUSm9NHuberLowC48HCYe9R8Zh5Fcuw1jr81BGSvrAeHCRwUDEzeB6k5D8LTqkMfeNxLVwGjK7oLRaArzdnlD7MW1WdRXD-2F69lwAnMi-2FVqffxoqoxEKppOoB23wuXKKerFNqmc99XY0A7Dv-2BCE7h8Cb4A-2BW1lt1Z7-2FBI5-2BGeLGxg-2FdSSojLLbwugZlAbtNxgqEgOf7KEELjAHP4-2B-2Fx-2BXPjiO38h530qzCsNt3JnT7LuQVrs1-2BJ8XQCV5jdMxkW1oWD64pwNltQLdTJ-2Bpgwjj4tKi88XRjRhlKc2K-2Bhjbkx0GFzUojjaMS-2FWIEunn3l7-2BRQrxSeOm7BeVNkwANRN5ScTOLD3jSKOO5jX-2BgF09Do0f2WoLo7btFbJJNYDqPN-2BAOR1eTyLH10XmKaaEbhhbw5pxDn6abrGKqVcDlEWVwhp7ZNdYoZ7lLkypw2M5E3sD5oBRhKPEf6-2FXe0aT-2FKJXS0OxSnP2tXYowEihLUAvGIqopvi2XqV49Yed0jJd8lDLH3kdP3HkXdplzYIXRWx6fUMlAtLWBATSSk7TeY7uzBtOsTQyG9iPt5A4avv4xFKbwNiaS1OpDNy-2BTTofMmG3LQjQHNWsKtWgjj8NM66Mw-2Bg-3DVLz3_44mXV-2BfQ3Zh9sc-2BX19-2FrIeD7P-2BoFLf-2FedQGY-2FUnVzov3awt8Soc3nIhIoILU4-2Bduc15nOZYC7MLMmERXAdTZkR7RgnJsorS9JnddWSq0beq9TXubMvTZ5EHvl0G0lBSDOXtDG2NSjcuYUkABofsKvXv2cmu69NFKnJQhKPfauw0dP3aZI1a1DfYEXduo1g3iIBqCA5VJY7Hh2g0A5Yl-2FwWWpl8yI-2B4NKfpkVH-2BNVOGgDsGjlQXKW7pMhKqBYYEcyLrL9PplwOrYy14RdspBVRhDDoaTBRiG5R-2FdWs8AsFFeiSI3VVQXskOx4WxINazbQlaHqdr9G32NpG6PHKKJKcIo8-2BaODPyiO2ws51jgRxKoGr55b-2F-2BiEZZipbBUQfgfH)
The future of the Great Barrier Reef hangs in the balance as global warming continues to affect the coral’s ability to recover, with only 2 per cent of the entire reef escaping bleaching in the past 30 years.
[Dozens of nations pledge to phase out coal at COP26, but Australia not on the list](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-04/australia-not-among-nations-to-commit-to-phase-out-coal-cop26/100596222)
A further 23 nations have pledged to phase out the use of coal-fired power in a deal at the COP26 climate summit, but Australia, China, India, and the United States are not on the list.
[Australia labelled untrustworthy, a climate change 'pariah' after stoush with French President, COP26](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-05/australia-morrison-criticised-cop26-coal-macron-stoush-qa/100596086)
Australia has been labelled a climate change "pariah" and untrustworthy when it comes to international relations in the wake of the COP26 summit and the Prime Minister's recent stoush with French President Emmanuel Macron during a raucous episode of Q+A.
[Rooftop solar pushes state’s entire local network into negative load for four hours](https://reneweconomy.com.au/rooftop-solar-pushes-states-entire-local-network-into-negative-load-for-four-hours/)
The South Australia grid has set what is undoubtedly another world first for a gigawatt scale grid – with the local distribution network reporting “negative demand” as a result of the output of rooftop solar for four hours on Sunday.
[Farmers split on Australia’s refusal to sign up to global methane pledge at Cop26](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/04/farmers-split-on-australias-refusal-to-sign-up-to-global-methane-pledge-at-cop26)
Farmer groups have split over the Coalition’s rejection of Joe Biden’s global methane pledge, with the National Farmers Federation backing the government’s stance while Farmers for Climate Action has urged Australia to commit to cut methane.
[Stop subsidising fossil fuels and start spending on people, says UN chief](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-10165727/Stop-subsidising-fossil-fuels-start-spending-people-says-UN-chief.html)
Governments should stop subsidising fossil fuels and give the money to people instead, the UN secretary-general has said. Antonio Guterres said subsidies to fossils fuel producers “distort the market and penalise renewable energy”.
[Reef](https://blog.greenpeace.org.au/the-canopy/tag/reef), [Coal](https://blog.greenpeace.org.au/the-canopy/tag/coal), [climate change](https://blog.greenpeace.org.au/the-canopy/tag/climate-change), [COP26](https://blog.greenpeace.org.au/the-canopy/tag/cop26)
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## More news
### [More than 90% of Great Barrier Reef bleached](https://blog.greenpeace.org.au/the-canopy/more-than-90-of-great-barrier-reef-bleached)
More than 90 percent of reefs surveyed along the Great Barrier Reef this year have been impacted by...
### [Morrison govt 'rushed release and leaked report to block Reef's 'in danger' listing'](https://blog.greenpeace.org.au/the-canopy/morrison-govt-rushed-release-and-leaked-report-to-block-reefs-in-danger-listing)
In today’s news, documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws reveal the Morrison...
### [Morrison government tries to fudge Reef status as Cannon-Brookes puts pens down](https://blog.greenpeace.org.au/the-canopy/morrison-government-tries-to-fudge-reef-status-as-cannon-brookes-puts-pens-down)
The Australian government attempted to water down language around the health of the Reef in the...
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