Berlin (dpa) - Financial aid to help businesses and societies deal with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic should also help protect the environment, the leaders of the United Nations and Germany said on Tuesday.

"As we spend trillions to recover from [coronavirus-related disease] Covid-19, we must deliver new jobs and businesses through a clean, green transition," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, an annual meeting involving dozens of nations.

"Where taxpayers' money is used to rescue businesses, it must be creating green jobs and sustainable and inclusive growth," Guterres added. "It must not be bailing out outdated, polluting, carbon-intensive industries."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it is key "when we pursue stimulus packages to never lose sight of climate action and make clear that we are not for instance skimping on climate action, but investing in future-oriented technologies."

Both addressed ministers from around 30 countries on the last day of this year's Petersberg Climate Dialogue, which was held via video conference for the first time due to the pandemic. No concrete results were expected from the informal event.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen used the occasion to call for the European Union to stick to its ambitious climate goals.

The head of the EU's executive body warned against falling back into old habits when the crisis is over, and stressed the importance of pursuing the "European Green Deal."

The plan is a flagship policy of her commission and aims to channel investment to projects that will see the bloc's carbon emissions fall drastically in the next decades.

"By using the European Green Deal as our compass, we can turn the crisis of this pandemic into an opportunity to rebuild our economies differently and make them more resilient, so that we also leave a better place for our children," von der Leyen said.

Merkel threw her support behind significantly raising EU climate targets for 2030, welcoming a proposal by the Commission to aim for a 50- to 55-per-cent reduction of carbon emissions.

The current target is 40 per cent, compared to 1990 levels.

A "comprehensive package of measures" with investments in climate-friendly infrastructure and "appropriate carbon pricing" will be needed, Merkel said.

Despite the coronavirus crisis, the task of implementing the Paris climate agreement "with seriousness and passion" remains, the chancellor said. The deal is meant to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius as compared to pre-industrial levels.

"These are dark days, but they are not without hope," Guterres said. "We have a rare and short window of opportunity to rebuild our world for the better."

The Petersberg Climate Dialogue was set up by Merkel in 2010 to inject new energy into climate negotiations following the failure of a UN summit in Copenhagen. Germany hosted this year's event with Britain, where the next UN climate summit is due to take place.