UNITED NATIONS -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday urged the international community to end subsidies for fossil fuels.

"We must set radical change in motion. This means ending subsidies for fossil fuels and high-emitting, unsustainable agriculture and shifting towards renewable energy, electric vehicles and climate-smart practices," the UN chief told the High-level Meeting on Climate and Sustainable Development for All, which was held at the UN headquarters in New York.

"It means accelerating the closure of coal plants, halting the construction of new ones and replacing those jobs with healthier alternatives for the people there employed, so the transformation is just, inclusive and profitable," he added.

UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces chaired the meeting, which was participated by some heads of government and state.

The objectives of the high-level meeting include highlighting the inter-linkages between climate and economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development for present and future generations including the synergies between the climate agenda and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.