Australia is home to 10 per cent of the world's coral reefs and is one of the world's largest exporters of fossil fuels which a coral reef scientist says is a conflict of interest that needs to be tackled before it's too late.
A climate change forum in Sydney attempted to debunk several climate change myths and discussed the changes needed within government to combat climate change.
The public forum discussed one of Australia's biggest climate change barriers which climate scientist Dr Greg Holland said was the clash of values between resource extraction, the environment and the future.
Coral reef scientist Professor Terry Hughes said Australia's "vested interests in climate change denial" contributed to the problem.
"It's almost struck me as ironic that Australia is responsible for several world heritage coral reef areas," Prof Hughes said at the event in Sydney on Tuesday.
"(We're) responsible for 10 per cent of the world's coral reefs yet we are one of the largest exporters of fossil fuels.
"That's a conflict of interest and that needs to be tackled or we won't have a coral reef in 50 years time."
The professor said the government was doing the "exact opposite" of what it needed to do to ensure the survival of the Great Barrier Reef.
"A logical response to the back-to-back ageing which has killed nearly half of corals in the last two years would be to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and to act as an international leader in the transition away from fossil fuels," he said.
He referred to the proposed controversial Adani coal mine, saying if it went ahead, it would harm the already threatened reef.
"The effect on the reef would be enormous at a time when the reef is literally on its knees," he said.
"And I don't know if we will be able to recover sufficiently before the next bleaching event occurs."
One of the myths the forum attempted to debunk was that climate change would happen sometime in the future, with Dr Holland saying the weather event was already happening and would only get worse.
"We are now experiencing more extremes in weather and climate across the board," he said.
"There is no known mechanism other than human influences that have caused it."
