UN chief calls for speedy transition to renewable energy

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a faster transition to renewable energy.

"Instead of slowing down the decarbonization of the global economy, now is the time to accelerate the energy transition to a renewable energy future," the UN chief said in his video message on Monday to the Geneva press conference launch of a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

According to the IPCC, if warming isn't controlled, some of the planet's most crowded regions will become uninhabitable.

The 3,600-page report focuses on the practical impacts of climate change on humans and nature.

"Today's IPCC report is an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership," said the top UN official.

The UN chief warned that global average temperatures have already risen by 1.1 degrees Celsius, roughly two degrees Fahrenheit, "leaving perilously little room" for meeting the targets of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

"I am calling for developed countries, Multilateral Development Banks, private financiers and others to form coalitions to help major emerging economies end the use of coal," he said.

"The Glasgow commitment on adaptation funding is clearly not enough to meet the challenges faced by nations on the frontlines of the climate crisis," Guterres said.