World paying ‘horrific price’ for fossil fuels folly: UN chief

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres yesterday said that developing nations were paying a "horrific price" for the world's reliance on fossil fuels, as he toured parts of Pakistan hit by floods blamed on climate change.

"Pakistan and other developing countries are paying a horrific price for the intransigence of big emitters that continue to bet on fossil fuels," Guterres said in a tweet, shortly before heading to see some of the most flood-affected areas.

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Nearly 1,400 people have died in flooding that covers a third of the country and has wiped out crops and destroyed homes, businesses, roads and bridges.

Guterres hopes his visit will galvanise support for Pakistan, which has put the provisional cost of the catastrophe at more than $30 billion.