SYDNEY - The Great Barrier Reef will become functionally extinct in less than 20 years if global warming continues at its current pace, a draft international report warns.
A confidential draft of the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), obtained by The Age, says thatglobal warming will cause billions of dollars of damage to coastal areas, key ecosystems and the farming sector without massive greenhouse gas emission cuts.
In a chapter on Australia, the draft IPCC climate impacts report warns that coral bleaching in the Barrier Reef is likely to occur annually by 2030 because of warmer, more acidic seas.
The reef is one of several iconic areas of Australia identified in the report as key hot spots for climate vulnerability. Others include the Kakadu National Park's wetlands, the Murray-Darling Basin and alpine zones in southern Australia.
Australian Conservation Foundation executive director Don Henry said the report was a big wake-up call.
"They are saying our beloved Barrier Reef is at grave risk," Mr Henry told Sky News.
"We've got a major economic and environmental problem unless we heed the call of these scientists.
"I think the science is getting clearer about how just how serious and urgent it is."
