Carbon crisis: ‘now or never’ to save coral reefs

**MEDIA ALERT: EMBARGO: December 14, 5am (QLD)**
Most coral reefs will not survive the predicted rises in global temperatures and atmospheric CO2 emissions that are forecast, marine scientists will reveal tomorrow morning at UQ.

A panel of four international marine scientists, led by UQ Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, will explain the new findings published in the prestigious Science magazine.

The research, the most definitve yet, paints an even bleaker future for the largest living structures on earth which support 100 million people and one million species.

MEDIA CONFERENCE
WHERE: University of Queensland, IMB Building, Large Seminar Room, Level 3

WHEN: Friday, December 14, 2007

TIME: 8.30am

WHO: Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg (lead author, Director of the Centre for Marine Studies, UQ) He will outline the key research findings. Dr Marea Hatziolos (marine ecologist and coastal and marine expert with the World Bank) She will talk about solutions to problems facing coral reefs from climate change. Dr Peter Sale (Professor in Biological Science at the University of Windsor Canada) He will answer questions about the complexity of the problems faced by coral reefs. Dr Roberto Iglesias-Prieto (Unidad Académica Puerto Morelos, Instituto de Ciencias del Mary Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) He will explain the problems faced by coral reefs in the developing world.

PARKING: Mansfield Place, authorised vehicle section.

Journalists can watch the conference online and ask questions here

The scientific review is an initiative of the World Bank-funded Coral Reef Targeted Research and Capacity Building for Management Program.

MEDIA: Fiona Kennedy (+61 0 413 380 012 ), Miguel Holland (+61 7 3365 2619) or Mark Paterson (+61 0 409 411 110)