Coral Reefs Face Irreversible Decline As Earth Hits First Climate Tipping Point: Report

In a series of potentially irreversible tipping points, Earth has reached its first - the warm water corals, according to an alarming report published Sunday (October 12). The coral reefs are vital ecosystems supporting a quarter of all marine species and nearly a billion people globally, but a temperature rise has caused widespread coral reef bleaching and death around the world.  

"We can no longer talk about tipping points as a future risk," Steve Smith, a social scientist at the University of Exeter, UK, said as quoted by Nature. "This is our new reality." He is the lead author on a report about how close Earth is to reaching roughly 20 planetary tipping points.

The researchers have also announced that in the absence of rapid action to curb greenhouse gas emissions, other systems like the Amazon rainforest and polar ice sheets will also soon reach planetary tipping points.

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"We are rapidly approaching multiple Earth system tipping points that could transform our world, with devastating consequences for people and nature," Tim Lenton, a professor at the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter and an author of the report, said as quoted by CNN.

The report, which has been compiled by 160 scientists from 23 countries, found that a widespread dieback of warm-water coral reefs is underway, threatening biodiversity and livelihoods. When it comes to the bleaching event, a total of 84% of reefs across 82 countries have been affected since January 2023 - the fourth and worst global bleaching event on record.

Researchers have found that there's a loss of coastal protection, with tourism also being impacted, affecting hundreds of millions dependent on reefs.

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"We have now pushed (coral reefs) beyond what they can cope with," said Mike Barrett, chief scientific advisor at the World Wildlife Fund UK and co-author of the report. The authors said that unless global warming is reversed, "extensive reefs as we know them will be lost".

The authors also suggested that Earth system tipping points require engagement not only from national governments and international bodies, but also from municipal, regional, corporate and community actors.

From law and policymaking to advocacy, the authors said that diverse strategies are needed to address the issue in order to draw on the "varied capacities, mandates and influence of actors operating across multiple scales and domains".