The head of the United Nations is urging richer nations to contribute to a global fund aimed at helping underdeveloped countries deal with the effects of climate change.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that governments should find a way to donate to the $100 billion Green Climate Fund, noting that an “empty shell is not sufficient.”

He made the comments in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, where member-nations of the Climate Vulnerable Forum are meeting ahead of U.N. climate talks in South Africa later this month.

Secretary-General Ban says climate change is a global problem requiring a global solution, and it is unfair to ask the poorest and most vulnerable to bear the costs of combating its effects.

The Climate Vulnerable Forum, made up of countries from the Americas, Africa, and Asia, are seeking pledges from richer nations to cut carbon emissions, which is contributing to global warming.