Paris agreement's 1.5C target 'only way' to save coral reefs, Unesco says

First global assessment of climate change impact on world heritage-listed reefs says local efforts are 'no longer sufficient'

Greater emissions reductions and delivering on the Paris climate agreement are now "the only opportunity" to save coral reefs the world over from decline, with local responses no longer sufficient, a report by Unesco has found.

The first global scientific assessment of the impacts of climate change on the 29 world heritage-listed coral reefs, published on Saturday, found that the frequency, intensity and duration of heat-stress events had worsened with increasing global warming, with massive consequences for the 29 world heritage sites.