Climate change threat to 100 million living off sea

AROUND 100 million people risk losing their homes and livelihoods unless drastic steps are taken to protect southeast Asia’s coral reefs, which could be wiped out in coming decades because of climate change, a report said yesterday.

The Coral Triangle – which spans Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and East Timor – accounts for a third of the world’s coral reefs and 35% of coral reef fish species.

If carbon emissions are not cut by 25% to 40% by the year 2020, higher ocean temperatures could kill off vast marine ecosystems and half the fish in them, according to the World Wildlife Fund, which warned that 100 million people earning a living off the sea could be forced to leave inundated coastlines and find new jobs.