UN chief touts 'Clean Trillion' dollars in investment to limit climate change

One trillion U.S. dollars of investment in clean energy is needed annually to keep global temperature rise to acceptable levels, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said here Wednesday.

Ban floated the idea while addressing an investor summit on climate risk and called on investors to build on the strong momentum from the recent Paris climate agreement.

"To keep global temperature rise well below 2 degrees, and even 1.5 degrees, we must begin the shift away from fossil fuels immediately," said Ban.

According to him, investments in clean energy last year were around 330 billion U.S. dollars, more than six times higher than in 2004.

"This is a good down-payment, but far less than the clean trillion (dollars) needed annually throughout the coming decades," he said. "Investors and businesses that redirect resources to low-carbon, climate-resilient growth will be the economic powerhouses of the 21st century."

Ban also made several other specific recommendations in his speech, including calling for financing for the national climate plans of developing countries.