IMF Chief: End Subsidies on Fossil Energy

The head of the International Monetary Fund on Friday urged countries to remove subsidies on fossil fuels and launch schemes that put a price on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to curb rising emissions blamed for global warming.

"The issue of climate change, is the critical question of the moment and the next decade," Christine Lagarde said at a panel discussion in Vienna.

"We have indicated from the IMF two things that are equally important - the first one is to remove around the world subsidies of the consumption of fossil energy," she said, adding that a second step would be to set up a mechanism to take care of any subsequent movement of the price of carbon.

In December, nations agreed to a landmark global climate accord for transforming the world's fossil fuel-driven economy within decades.

Reporting by Kirsti Knolle