The prospects of saving the world’s coral reefs now appear so bleak that plans are being made to freeze samples to preserve them for the future.
A meeting in Denmark took evidence from researchers that most coral reefs will not survive even if tough regulations on greenhouse gases are put in place.
Scientists proposed storing samples of coral species in liquid nitrogen.
That will allow them to be reintroduced to the seas in the future if global temperatures can be stabilised.
Legislators from 16 major economies have been meeting in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, to try to agree the way forward on climate change.
The meeting has been organised by the Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment (Globe).
Losing the fight
One of the issues they have been considering is what to do with coral reefs, which make up less than a quarter of 1% of the ocean’s floor.
Yet the reefs are a key source of food, income and coastal protection for around 500 million people worldwide.