"We need all governments to translate these pledges into policies, plans, and targets with specific timelines", Guterres says. This spate of wild weather is consistent with climate change, scientists say, and the world can expect even more extreme weather and higher risks from natural disasters as global emissions of greenhouse gases continue. But let's not fool ourselves.

Almost 100 world leaders and several dozen government ministers are scheduled to speak at the U.N. General Assembly's special session that opens Thursday to discuss the response to COVID-19 and the best path to recovery from the pandemic, which has claimed 1.5 million lives and shattered economies in both rich and poor countries.

He voiced grave concern that extreme poverty is rising, the threat of starvation looms and the world faces the biggest global recession in eight decades. The final panel is on recovery from COVID-19. They are the result of long-term fragilities, inequalities and injustices that have been exposed by the pandemic.

While these events can't exclusively be blamed on climate change, "these are the types of events scientists fear will increase due to climate change", said Cornell University climate scientist Natalie Mahowald, who wasn't part of the report.

Casting blame for COVID-19's heavy death toll in the United States, Mr Trump has moved to withdraw from the World Health Organisation, saying it was beholden to China in the early stages of the crisis.

"Defeating the pandemic requires concerted efforts from all countries", he said, stressing that major countries should lead in promoting collaboration "which is the right way forward".

"We are facing a devastating pandemic, new heights of global heating, new lows of ecological degradation and new setbacks in our work towards global goals for more equitable, inclusive and sustainable development", Guterres said in the address, delivered at Columbia University in NY. It is also a humanitarian, socio-economic, security and human rights crisis, the United Nations has said.

Looking ahead, Michel proposed that this mobilization and worldwide solidarity be the basis of a new global treaty within the World Health Organization to deal with future pandemics. "Unfortunately, these recommendations were not followed". And in some situations, there was a rejection of facts and an ignoring of the guidance.

Former Energy and Climate Minister Amber Rudd, who represented the United Kingdom at the Paris talks, said Boris Johnson had weakened his own position in COP 2 at the United Kingdom by reducing the UK's spending on foreign aid, which would reduce hosts' gains in uniting developing countries.

Looking ahead, the recovery from COVID-19 must address the pre-existing conditions it has exposed and exploited, from gaps in basic services to an overheated planet, he said.

Friday's session will focus on three virtrual panels, the first on the U.N.'s response to COVID-19 and the second on vaccines that will include representatives from producers BioNTech and Oxford University-AstraZeneca, and the World Health Organization's ACT-Accelerator which is working to get vaccines to the world's poorest people.

On the other hand, there are concerns that developing countries could be left behind in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

"We can not bequeath a broken planet and huge debts to future generations". China and US President-elect Joe Biden have pledged net zero carbon emissions.

"It is time to end the suicidal war with our planet".

Britain's parliament became the first in the world to declare a climate emergency, passing the motion in May past year, followed closely by Ireland. We need a post-2020 biodiversity framework to halt the extinction crisis, he said.

Dozens of world leaders have submitted pre-recorded video statements for the two-day meeting.

World leaders expected to address the session are Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, French President Emmanuel Macron, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.