KYIV, Nov 1 – President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday urged rich nations to share the burden of high cost of green energy transformation with poor nations to prevent global warming and to stop climate change.

"This is not just a moral obligation for rich countries to help developing ones achieve green economic modernization. It is part of the global rescue technology. We can stop catastrophic climate change if everyone on whom it depends is in good faith. It is quite possible to keep global warming within the limits of no more than one and a half degrees Celsius," Zelensky said in a column written for the Green Deal project published on Monday.

Zelensky called the Glasgow Climate Conference, which he attends, "one of the most important gatherings this year."

"If the pace of climate change cannot be reduced, then after 2030 the social and economic losses will be so significant that we simply cannot even imagine it yet. No one in the world is able to close off this threat at their national borders. And no one will be able to beat the climate at the expense of politicking," he said.

He said Ukraine welcomes the Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use, initiated by the UK. "The restoration and protection of forests should be an unconditional priority. Ukraine has already begun this work, and in ten years the area of forests in our country will grow by 10 million hectares," Zelensky said.

"Another important step that can be agreed now in Glasgow and that we support is a global initiative to reduce methane emissions. This is one of the most dangerous greenhouse gases, and there is enough scientific research to confirm this," Zelensky said.

“Yes, it is necessary to take into account the real economic circumstances of each country and look for such a way to achieve common goals, which will be perceived and supported by societies. But the climate cannot just wait – action is needed,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky noted that Ukraine prepares every year for more and more destructive floods, works out the necessary steps to combat desertification. "The state and business are spending more and more resources to adapt to climate change – primarily the agricultural sector, in order to ensure the food security of our society," he wrote. (nr/ez)