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Panel warns on Great Barrier Reef Panel warns on Great Barrier Reef
(30 minutes later)
Australia's famous Great Barrier Reef could be dead within decades because of the effects of global warming, according to a leaked report.Australia's famous Great Barrier Reef could be dead within decades because of the effects of global warming, according to a leaked report.
The study warns that the organisms which make up the reef's coral could be bleached because of warmer seas. The report, from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), warns that the reef's coral could be bleached because of warmer seas.
The report is being compiled by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). IPCC scientists are meeting in Paris, and are due to release the first stage of their findings on Friday.
Its authors are meeting currently in Paris and are due to release the first stage of the findings on Friday. The Barrier Reef is Australia's leading tourist destination.
Draft comments on the Great Barrier Reef have been obtained by The Age newspaper. The draft comments, obtained by The Age newspaper, come from the second report which the IPCC will publish this year, dealing with impacts of climate change; the first reviews the overall scientific picture.
'Functionally extinct''Functionally extinct'
The IPCC - widely seen as the world's most authoritative body on global warming - will summarise the scientific basis for climate change. GREAT BARRIER REEF More than 2,000 km longHome to 1,500 types of fishOnly living thing the naked eye can see from space The draft document warns that the Great Barrier Reef will become "functionally extinct" because of coral bleaching - which occurs when the animal organisms that make up the coral die, leaving behind a white limestone skeleton.
GREAT BARRIER REEF More than 2,000 km longHome to 1,500 types of fishOnly living thing the naked eye can see from space In the coming months, the panel will also release two more reports, detailing the consequences of global warming and suggesting possible ways forward. Bleaching occurs regularly during periods when water becomes unusually warm.
The draft document obtained by The Age includes a chapter on Australia. Many reefs in East Asia declined significantly during the El Nino conditions in 1997/8; it can take a decade for coral to start recovering from severe bleaching.
It warns that the Great Barrier Reef will become "functionally extinct" because of coral bleaching - which occurs when the animal organisms that make up the coral die, leaving behind a white limestone skeleton. But in the future, the Barrier Reef may not have the chance to recover, scientists warn, as temperatures continue to rise and the sea becomes more acidic. This raises the risk that the coral will die outright.
It takes at least a decade for coral to start recovering from severe bleaching. The reef attracts a million visitors a year, and is home to sharks, turtles and numerous brightly coloured fish.
But the reef may not have the chance to recover, scientists warn, as temperatures continue to rise and the sea becomes more acidic. This raises the risk that the coral will die outright.
The reef is Australia's number one tourist destination, attracting a million visitors a year, and is home to sharks, turtles and numerous brightly coloured fish.