Minister Penny Wong has called attention to the threat that climate change poses to the tourism industry, highlighting the need for Australian industry to take real action on reducing emissions. The Minister spoke about the need to preserve tourism icons and the jobs that depend on them.
According to the Age, Minister Wong said “We need to act now to protect Australia’s unique environment, especially these World Heritage sites that support so many Australian workers in the tourism and hospitality industry.’’
Following a debate on the government’s proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme at the Australian Labor Party’s national conference, the department of Climate Change and Water released a report detailing future climate change-related damage to Australia’s World Heritage sites, such as bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef.
For the full story on the Age website:
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-threat-to-heritage-sites-20090801-e592.html
To see the report from the Department of Climate Change and Water:
http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/publications/climatechange/pubs/worldheritage-climatechange.pdf
