VIENNA: The UN chief said on Tuesday termed renewable energy as "the peace plan of the 21st century" and called on fossil fuel finance to be abandoned wholesale, in favour of the green alternative.

António Guterres was speaking at the Sixth Austrian World Summit on the climate crisis, convened by the Austrian Government and former Governor of California and Hollywood actor turned climate activist, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Guterres repeated his call for G20 leading economies to "dismantle coal infrastructure, with a full phase-out by 2030 for OECD countries and 2040 for all others."

''And I call on all financial actors to abandon fossil fuel finance and invest in renewable energy.'' "The only true path to energy security, stable power prices, prosperity and a liveable planet lies in abandoning polluting fossil fuels, especially coal, and accelerating the renewables-based energy transition," he declared.