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The Great Barrier Reef should be put on a list of World Heritage Sites that are "in danger" over harm caused by climate change, Unesco says.

The UN's cultural body is also urging Australia to take "accelerated action" on global warming. But the Australian government said it would "strongly oppose" the recommendation.

So is Australia being unfairly targeted for a global problem?

Not according to Associate Professor Scott Heron of James Cook University, who has led a study on the effects of climate change on world heritage reef sites. He says it's a bold and welcome decision that directly 'calls out' Australia's weak environmental policies.

"We say we're going to protect the reef on one hand but then take a policy action that's directly opposed to the idea of protecting the reef on the other hand. And that policy incoherence is part of the storyline that's being called out here by Unesco."

(Photo: A turtle swims over the Great Barrier Reef. Credit: Getty Images)