WARSAW, Poland, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres told an environmental summit in Poland the coal industry needs to change the way it does business.
"I am here to say that coal must change rapidly and dramatically for everyone's sake," the executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change said in a statement Monday.
The World Meteorological Organization said in a report published Nov. 6 there was a 32 percent increase in the warming effect of greenhouse gases from 1990 to 2012. Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels like oil and coal accounted for 80 percent of the increase.
Figueres said the coal industry can move ahead only if it starts to take into account the threats of climate change in its business model.
"Some major oil, gas and energy technology companies are already investing in renewables, and I urge those of you who have not yet started to do this to join them," she said. "By diversifying your portfolio beyond coal, you too can produce clean energy that reduces pollution, enhances public health, increases energy security, and creates new jobs."
