Secretary of State John Kerry urged world leaders Thursday to address climate change, warning that the window for action is closing.
Kerry, speaking after touring a wind energy technology center near Boston, said climate change is already significantly altering the world, The Associated Press reported.
{mosads}Policies that seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can also spur new technology developments and jobs in renewable energy, he said.
He warned that failure to act could bring catastrophic changes and global conflict, according to the AP.
Kerry also warned that denying that climate change is happening would be disastrous.
“If they’re wrong: catastrophe,” he said, according to The Boston Globe. “Life as you know it on Earth ends.”
Kerry toured the facility along with Philip Hammond, the United Kingdom’s secretary of state for foreign affairs.
Hammond largely repeated Kerry’s comments, saying that fighting climate change would mean global security in the long run.
Kerry and Hammond wrote an opinion piece Thursday in the Globe to tout the international and economic benefits of investment in low-carbon energy.