An Australian government update on what it is doing to protect the wounded Great Barrier Reef includes no new funding and no new commitments to tackle the biggest threat to its health, climate change.
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The update to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre says good progress has been made since federal and state governments last year committed to a 35-year plan to improve the reef's health, but it falls short of what scientists believe is necessary.
It follows the release of fresh surveys of coral death due to inflated ocean temperatures last summer. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies estimated 67 per cent of coral has died in shallow reefs north of Port Douglas, compared with just 1 per cent mortality south of Mackay.
In a foreword to the report, Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg and his Queensland counterpart Steven Miles say the reef has been severely affected by mass coral bleaching, and that climate change is "the single biggest threat to reefs worldwide - and the Great Barrier Reef is no exception".
"Australia, along with all countries, is required to do our share to address this significant challenge. Among other things, this means transitioning our energy supply to a lower emissions mix," they write.
But the report - on the government's commitments to UNESCO after the body decided last year not to list the reef as "world heritage in danger" - says Australia is acting on global warming through the United Nations talks that led to the Paris climate deal, while the reef plan focuses on reducing local pressures to improve the natural wonder's resilience.
The update lists $1.28 billion of funding for reef projects over the next five years, including $573 million to improve water quality - considered the second greatest threat after global warming.
Scientist Jon Brodie has estimated fixing the poor quality - which a recent government report card rated as poor, largely due to nitrogen used in fertiliser and sediment from farming - would cost $10 billion over a decade. A Queensland government science taskforce put the cost at $8.2 billion by 2025.
But the update to UNESCO noted a peer review of the taskforce had found that figure included some "very expensive, high risk actions", including $5.6 billion for just one step - improving gullies in the Fitzroy Basin around Rockhampton.
The report says the response to date is focused on lower cost projects that can be pursued immediately and make significant improvements to reef health.
It is understood an advisory committee has told the government that not enough funding has been committed, but that the work has not yet been done to work out how it would be spent most effectively.
The federal and state ministers said the update showed strong progress had been made to protect and improve the reef.
Last year's plan promised 151 "actions" in the first five years. The update says 32 have been completed, and 103 have begun and are on track.
One - reducing tree-clearing to stop erosion - has been delayed after being blocked by the Liberal National Party and crossbenchers in the Queensland Parliament.
Successes listed include law changes to improve management of ports and dredging, a ban on material dredged during industrial development being dumped in the World Heritage area and support for cane farmers and graziers designed to improve water quality.
Besides the funding shortfall and the glaring threat of global warming, some observers believe the greatest achievement since the launch of the 2050 reef plan last year has been the federal and Queensland government starting to work in partnership on solutions.
The update report was due to be delivered to the World Heritage Centre by December 1. It was released to some journalists, including Fairfax Media, on Thursday on the condition it did not seek reaction from other parties before Friday.
