ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday called for more coordinated international efforts to fight climate change.
The international community needs more political will to fight climate change, the UN chief told a press conference on the sidelines of the 32nd ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
"The international community needs more political will to undertake climate change mitigation, adaptation and climate finance activities," Guterres said.
"We are losing the race for climate change which could be a disaster for Africa and the world," he said. "Africa will pay even more price because of the dramatic impact in the continent even though Africa doesn't contribute much to the warming of the planet."
Guterres said the UN is undertaking activities to raise the awareness of the international community to do much more in addressing the challenges of climate change, despite inadequate attention given to the threat.
Guterres also praised African countries for hosting fellow African refugees despite limited domestic resources.
On Friday, the AU said Africa is home to more than one third of the global population of displaced people.
The theme of this year's AU summit is "Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa."
