UN chief starts New Zealand visit to stress climate change

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on Sunday for a three-day visit with a focus on climate change.

Sheik Saad Jalloh, left, imam of the Islamic Cultural Center, walks with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres as he arrives for a service in New York, Friday, March 22, 2019 in the wake of a white supremacist's deadly shooting spree on two mosques, March 15, in Christchurch, New Zealand. [File Photo: AP]

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet with Guterres later on Sunday.

Guterres will visit both Auckland and Christchurch, including making a keynote speech at the Auckland University of Technology on Monday.

The secretary-general's visit is the first leg of his tour to the Pacific region to see how climate change is impacting the region.

On Wednesday, the New Zealand government submitted to the parliament the Zero Carbon Bill which outlines the country's plan over the next 30 years on climate change and aims to reduce greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050.

Ardern said she was "looking forward to welcoming Secretary-General Guterres to New Zealand and discussing the issues that matter most to us and our region."

"The United Nations is the forum where we collectively address the global challenges we face, including climate change and international security," she said.

New Zealand strongly supports the role of the UN in upholding the international rules-based system and ensuring all voices are able to be heard, the prime minister said.

Guterres will take part in a climate change and agriculture event in Christchurch on Tuesday, as well as paying tribute to the victims of the March 15 terrorist attack.