The end of coal is nigh – someone just needs to tell the Turnbull government

This finding by Professor Terry Hughes from the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies based at James Cook University also determined that: "Most of the losses in 2016 have occurred in the northern, most-pristine part of the Great Barrier Reef."

Further, scientists expect that the northern region will take at least 10 to 15 years to regain the lost corals, but are concerned a fourth bleaching event could happen sooner and interrupt the slow recovery.

This concern is not surprising given that this year is on track to become the hottest year on record, with global temperatures measuring 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, according to the World Meteorological Organization(WMO).

Global temperatures this year will likely beat the previous record set in 2015 by 0.2 degrees Celsius, setting a new high for the third year in a row. "Another year, another record," WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement released at the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech this month. By the end of 2016, 16 out of 17 hottest years on record will have been in this century, with 1998 as the outlier, the WMO said.

This speed and intensity of warming does not bode well for our beloved Reef. Climate action becomes ever more critical when the losses we all face from global warming are put in stark terms like the loss of the Great Barrier Reef along with all the beauty and life it-and all coral reefs--represent.

As the coal closure senate committee findings have confirmed – Australia's ability to meet our climate commitments and to genuinely take steps to save our Reef require replacement of dirty coal with clean energy. These findings should be headed by government as a matter of urgency.