John McCain urges action on Great Barrier Reef and Paris climate deal

The death of the Great Barrier Reef is one of the “great tragedies of our lives”, US senator John McCain has said, arguing America should uphold its commitment to the Paris climate agreement, or accede to it with minor modifications.

John McCain - the death of the Great Barrier Reef
is one of  the "great tragedies of our lives".

Speaking in Sydney on Tuesday night, the veteran politician and former Republican party presidential candidate said climate change was undeniably real and that it was incumbent upon world leaders to act now to halt and reverse global warming.

“I think that climate change is real. I think that one of the great tragedies of our lives is the Great Barrier Reef dying [and] the environmental consequences of that,” he said.

The position of the world’s second-largest carbon emitter on the Paris climate change agreement is uncertain and a subject of global speculation. US commitment to reducing emissions or otherwise could have significant ramifications for other countries upholding their promised reductions.

Read Ben Doherty’s story on The Guardian - “John McCain urges action on Great Barrier Reef and Paris climate deal.”