Over 40% of coral species face extinction – IUCN Red List

Baku, Azerbaijan, 13 November 2024 (IUCN) – Forty-four per cent of reef-building coral species globally are at risk of extinction, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ reveals following a global assessment announced today at the ongoing COP29 UN climate conference in Azerbaijan.

The conservation status of 892 warm-water reef-building coral species has now been reassessed for the IUCN Red List, and analysis shows that 44% are threatened. The threats to reef-building corals were last assessed for the IUCN Red List in 2008, and at that time one third were found to be threatened.

“As world leaders gather at the UN climate conference in Baku, this global coral assessment vividly illustrates the severe impacts of our rapidly changing climate on life on Earth and drives home the severity of the consequences," said IUCN Director General Dr Grethel Aguilar. "Healthy ecosystems like coral reefs are essential for human livelihoods—providing food, stabilising coastlines, and storing carbon. The protection of our biodiversity is not only vital for our well-being but crucial for our survival. Climate change remains the leading threat to reef-building corals and is devastating the natural systems we depend on. We must take bold, decisive action to cut greenhouse gas emissions if we are to secure a sustainable future for humanity."