Story highlights Report highlights 31 World Heritage Sites

Statue of Liberty also at risk from climate change

(CNN) Higher waves caused by a warming planet are chipping away at platforms that have supported some of the famous statues on Easter Island for more than 500 years, according to a United Nations report on cultural heritage sites and climate change.

"Some Easter Island statues are at risk of being lost to the sea because of coastal erosion," said Adam Markham, deputy director of the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists and lead author of the report, which examined the potential damage climate change can have on 31 of the world's more than 1,000 heritage properties.

"Climate change is affecting World Heritage sites across the globe," Markham said.

The report, "World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate," highlights the dangers of climate change to iconic sites including the canals of Venice, which are threatened by rising sea levels, and Yellowstone National Park, where shorter winters and reduced snowfall have affected the park's water supply.

The detailed research grew out of the Paris climate summit in December, where 195 countries agreed to reduce greenhouse gases to keep average global temperatures from rising by 2-degrees Celsius. Doing so will combat sea level rise, habitat loss and extreme weather events, experts say.

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