Carbon Emissions Pose Major Threat to Coral Reefs

Hazardous CO2 emissions pose a serious threat to the world's coral reefs, threatening to cause major reef decline by the year 2050 according to researchers who gathered in London in Monday.

Current emission trends will lead to atmospheric carbon levels reaching 450 parts per million by the year 2050, causing destructive acidification of the world's oceans and making it uninhabitable for coral reefs leading to their eventual annihilation.

Destruction of this coral would lead to unavoidable shifts in underwater ecosystems and many different plants and animals would inevitably become extinct. These shifts would pose a major risk to the survival and well-being of humanity.

Currently, the goal is to keep CO2 levels at 360 PPM or lower, as researchers have highlighted such levels as the breaking point for coral reef health.