Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Why should we care about coral reefs? What happens when they collapse? And is there still hope for their survival?
In this episode of Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with coral reef ecologist Dr. Katharina Fabricius, who has witnessed six mass bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef over her three decades of research.
From the “seven sins of climate change” threatening reefs — heat waves, acidification, storms, nutrient runoff, and more — to the resilience and surprising adaptability of corals, Katharina offers a sobering yet hopeful look at the future of our oceans. Together, they explore the science, politics, and moral responsibility of protecting one of the world’s most critical ecosystems, and why the fate of coral reefs is deeply tied to human survival.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Links:
• Helen Czerski: youtube.com/watch?v=fORkPoR48SU
• The latest AIMS report on the state of the Great Barrier Reef: https://www.aims.gov.au/monitoring-great-barrier-reef/gbr-condition-summary-2024-25
• The Seven Sins of Climate Change report: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X25007428#:~:text=We%20consider%20seven%20main%20environmental,and%207)%20cloudiness%2Fwindiness.
Chapters:
00:00 - Coming Up
02:10 - Dr Katharina Fabricius
05:30 - The First Coral Cover Study
08:10 - Marine Heat Waves & Bleaching
15:53 - Fishing, Tourism and Coastal Protection
18:17 - Storm Damage
21:00 - Cumulative Impact
24:00 - Resilience?
26:00 - Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish
29:05 - How Corals Mate
32:25 - Political Environment
37:55 - Reef Conservation
39:35 - The Coral Ark
41:00 - How Reefs Are Changing
44:23 - Acidification
51:15 - Hope
56:10 - Outro
Why should we care about coral reefs? What happens when they collapse? And is there still hope for their survival?
In this episode of Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with coral reef ecologist Dr. Katharina Fabricius, who has witnessed six mass bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef over her three decades of research.
From the “seven sins of climate change” threatening reefs — heat waves, acidification, storms, nutrient runoff, and more — to the resilience and surprising adaptability of corals, Katharina offers a sobering yet hopeful look at the future of our oceans. Together, they explore the science, politics, and moral responsibility of protecting one of the world’s most critical ecosystems, and why the fate of coral reefs is deeply tied to human survival.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Links:
• Helen Czerski: youtube.com/watch?v=fORkPoR48SU
• The latest AIMS report on the state of the Great Barrier Reef: https://www.aims.gov.au/monitoring-great-barrier-reef/gbr-condition-summary-2024-25
• The Seven Sins of Climate Change report: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X25007428#:~:text=We%20consider%20seven%20main%20environmental,and%207)%20cloudiness%2Fwindiness.
Chapters:
00:00 - Coming Up
02:10 - Dr Katharina Fabricius
05:30 - The First Coral Cover Study
08:10 - Marine Heat Waves & Bleaching
15:53 - Fishing, Tourism and Coastal Protection
18:17 - Storm Damage
21:00 - Cumulative Impact
24:00 - Resilience?
26:00 - Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish
29:05 - How Corals Mate
32:25 - Political Environment
37:55 - Reef Conservation
39:35 - The Coral Ark
41:00 - How Reefs Are Changing
44:23 - Acidification
51:15 - Hope
56:10 - Outro
