IMF chief urges accurate energy pricing, CO2 taxes

To ensure development is sustainable, the quest for global economic growth must coexist with environmental protection and social progress, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday, ahead of an upcoming UN conference.

"We are facing a triple crisis - an economic crisis, an environmental crisis and, increasingly, a social crisis," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a speech at the Center for Global Development in Washington.

"The global economy is still rocked by turmoil, with uncertain prospects for growth and jobs," she told the audience. "The planet is warming rapidly, with unknown and possibly dire consequences down the line. Across too many societies, the gap between the haves and have-nots is getting wider and strains are getting fiercer."