A UN-backed commission is proposing that the Great Barrier Reef be added to the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger and warns that without "ambitious, swift and sustained" climate action, the world's largest coral reef will be in trouble, BTA reports. .

The warning came in a report released on Monday following a 10-day mission to the reef in May by UNESCO and International Union for Conservation of Nature officials.

The reef, home to extraordinary species diversity and beauty along Australia's northeast coast, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.

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Australia's federal government and Queensland authorities should set more ambitious targets to cut emissions, in line with international efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the report said.

The report recommends more funding to improve water quality and halt the reef's deterioration.

The position of Australian federal and state authorities will be taken into account before UNESCO, the Paris-based UN cultural body, makes a formal proposal to the World Heritage Committee.

In an email to The Associated Press, the UN's cultural agency said that "in recent months we have been in a constructive dialogue with the Australian authorities. But much work remains to be done."

endangered species

The Great Barrier Reef