The plight of the Great Barrier Reef

The longer we delay, the greater the damage.

How many of us would like to explain to our children's children, that the predictions were there, but - sorry - we just didn't take them seriously enough?

Corals speak unambiguously about climate change. They once survived in a world where carbon dioxide from volcanoes and methane was much higher than anything predicted today. But that was 50 million years ago. The accumulation of carbon dioxide then took millions of years, not just a few decades. Then there was time enough for oceans to equilibrate. And for life to evolve solutions.

This is not what is happening today. Think about it. The levels of carbon dioxide we are already committed to reach, has no equal over the entire longevity of the Great Barrier Reef. Perhaps 25 million years, and most significantly, the rate of carbon dioxide increase we are now experiencing has no precedent in all known geological history.

Reefs are the ocean's canaries. We must heed their call. This call is not just for the reefs themselves, but for all the great ecosystems of our oceans. These stand behind reefs like a row of dominoes. If reefs fall, the rest will follow. In quick succession. The Sixth Mass Extinction will be upon us. It will be of our own making, and it will be unstoppable by any means whatsoever.

Climate change is the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. The longer we delay the costlier the remedy will be, and the more likely we will reach the point of no return.

On our present tack the future looks bleak, but it is still far from hopeless. We still have a window of opportunity, which we must take for the sake of our children and all the fauna and flora that share our planet. We are the custodians.

A brief look back at the staggering and accelerating technological advances of the past century is persuasive evidence that humans can find solutions if the political will is there to focus innovations in the right directions. We must buy ourselves time. Time for the innovators to do their job, to develop solutions and to create a future that is not dependent on fossil fuel. We, the citizens of the wealthy countries, are capable of achieving 50 per cent cuts in greenhouse emissions virtually immediately. At the same time we need to put pressure on our governments, to help our governments, to support far-reaching national and global efforts to provide the permanent solutions.

What is required is willingness and immediate action. It is time for Australia to become a leader in this endeavour. If not, our Great Barrier Reef will be the first of the dominoes to fall. And that fall will be forever as far as we humans are concerned.