By 2030 it is estimated that sea surface temperatures will rise by 0.6-0.9 ºC in the southern Tasman Sea and off the Northwest Shelf of Western Australia, and 0.3-0.6 ºC elsewhere.

This drastic temperature change can cause ocean acidification and impact dramatically on marine life, as demonstrated by the mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. In the first few months of 2016, the Reef experienced the worst coral bleaching event we’ve ever seen, triggered by the mining and burning of fossil fuels like coal and gas.

The scale of this loss is staggering. Around half of all corals north of Lizard Island to the tip of Cape York (a distance of approximately 1,000 kilometres) died. From Lizard Island south to Cairns, around 16% of corals died. Overall, 22% of the Great Barrier Reef's corals died in just a few months. Compared to previous coral bleaching events in 1998 and 2002, this loss was far worse.

Warmer temperatures also result in the expansion of the water's mass, which causes sea levels to rise. This leads to more erosion, threatening low-lying islands and coastal cities.

We can already feel the impacts of global warming, and these will continue if we fail to take serious climate change action now.

Australia has been slow to invest in renewable energy and, all the while, our pollution levels have continued to rise. If we leave it too much longer, the shift to clean, renewable energy will be far more difficult and expensive. And it's not just our oceans that will suffer.

In order to restore the health and beauty of the Great Barrier Reef and safeguard our oceans we need to act now. To reduce the severity of future coral bleaching, triggered by the mining and burning of fossils, Australia must speed up its transition to clean energy – like solar and wind. We must slow down the warming of our oceans by setting a target of 100% renewable electricity by 2035 and putting an end to fossil fuel subsidies.