Only fast action will save reefs: UN report

SCIENTISTS say Australia has a chance to save 30 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef if immediate global changes are made to stop temperature rises.

They’re calling for “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes” across society to prevent world temperatures from rising by 2C.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia would meet its emissions reduction targets, but he also wants to keep power prices low.

“Let’s not forget that Australia accounts for just over 1 per cent of global emissions, so there are a lot bigger players than us out there impacting on these arrangements,” he said.

Australia also has just 0.3 per cent of the world’s population, meaning Australians pollute more per capita than many other countries. The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released yesterday references more than 6000 scientific studies and says there are benefits to people and natural ecosystems if global warming is limited to 1.5C compared to 2C.

University of New South Wales climate scientist Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick says “virtually all” coral reefs would start dying off if global temperatures increased by 2C but “at 1.5C, there is a good chance of saving 10-30 per cent of current coral ecosystems”.

Australia is sticking to the targets in the Paris agreement, which aims to reduce emissions by 26 per cent by 2030, based on 2005 levels.