NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned from the world’s continuous reliance on fossil fuels, amid a growing impact of climate change causing “disastrous consequences” for people and nature. In a key speech in New York City, Guterres has outlined his expectations for the next three years with regard to tackling climate change.“If we do not change course by 2020, we risk missing the point where we can avoid runaway climate change, with disastrous consequences for people and all the natural systems that sustain us.”Speaking at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco this week, Guterres citing the New Climate Economy report from the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate Change released last week.He pointed out that climate action and socio-economic progress are mutually supportive, with gains of 26 trillion dollars predicted by 2030 compared with business as usual.He said: “I have heard the argument – usually from vested interests — that tackling climate change is expensive and could harm economic growth...In fact, the opposite is true. We are experiencing huge economic losses due to climate change.”“So, not only would a shift to renewable energy save money, it would also create new jobs, waste less water, boost food production and clean the polluted air that is killing us.”Guterres praised praised countries rich in fossil fuels, like the Gulf States and Norway, for exploring ways to diversify their economies.He praised Saudi Arabia for investing heavily in renewables to move from an oil economy to an energy economy.He commended countries like china, Sweden and Morocco for investing in renewable energy projects. And Scotland has opened the world’s first floating wind farm, saying there are many other signs of hope.