Posted on February, 23 2004

Sydney, Australia – A new WWF report showing that less than 5 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef’s coral cover will remain by 2050 if the world fails to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions underlines the need to switch immediately to clean, renewable energy sources. 
 
The WWF report, The Implications of Climate Change for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, warns that the frequency and severity of coral bleaching caused by global warming will increase worldwide in the coming decades.

The report says, however, that the reef can recover in the next century if average global warming stays below 2 degrees Celsius. This substantiates the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finding that only by keeping the global average temperature change to below 2 degrees Celsius will coral reefs like the Great Barrier Reef have any chance of recovering from such damage. The report highlights that this can be achieved by replacing oil and coal-based energy with clean, renewable energy sources. 
 
"Coral reefs are one of the first major causalities of climate change," said Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, University of Queensland Professor and co-author of the report. "The only hope we have of saving these beautiful ecosystems lies in massively reducing greenhouse gas emissions and stabilizing the earth's climate within 2 degrees Celsius of pre-industrial levels." 
  
Like the US, Australia has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, and continues to rely heavily on the coal industry. As the country having the highest CO2 emissions per capita in the world, WWF calls on Australia to help fund the replacement of oil and coal-based energy technologies with clean, renewable and affordable energy sources in developing countries.

According to the report, developed countries like Australia will need to reduce CO2 emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 to minimize climate change impacts, such as extreme weather events and loss of species. Through its PowerSwitch! Campaign, WWF is asking the power sector to become CO2-free by 2050 in developed countries and to make a major switch from coal to clean energy in developing countries. Next month, WWF-Australia will launch a road map outlining how Australia's power industry can make the switch from coal to clean energy. 
 
"Over 120 countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol and are already moving into renewable energy and energy efficiency," said Jennifer Morgan, Director of WWF’s Climate Change Programme. "Leadership from the world's most industrialized countries in making the switch from coal to clean energy is crucial to avoid disastrous impacts on people and nature." 
  
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the agency that manages the reef, has warned that the first-ever coral bleaching event outside of El Niño may take place on the reef within the next few weeks. 
  
For further information: 
 Imogen Zethoven
WWF-Australia Great Barrier Reef Campaign
Tel: +61 7 3839 2677
E-mail: izethoven@wwf.org.au
 
Martin Hiller
WWF Climate Change Programme
Tel: +41 22 3649226
E-mail: mhiller@wwfint.org
 
Mitzi Borromeo
WWF International Press Office
Tel: +41 22 3649562
E-mail: mborromeo@wwfint.org 
 
Note:
Based on the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings, WWF and other environmental groups have determined the danger threshold of global warming to be at 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. So far, average global warming stands at 0.6 degrees Celsius, with current emissions of climate-changing gases higher than any time before.