UPDATE 1-Britain calls for climate change focus at IMF meeting

British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Thursday he would urge fellow international policymakers to find ways to achieve sustainable economic growth and tackle climate change at meetings this week in Washington. Hammond is travelling to the spring meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, just hours after Prime Minister Theresa May secured a delay to Britain's departure from the European Union, potentially until Oct. 31.

The British finance minister made no direct mention of Brexit in his statement, but said he wanted to share his country's expertise in areas ranging from climate change to trade. "Britain is at a turning point and our future is bright. We must work together with our partners across the world to create a safer, more prosperous and more sustainable economy for future generations," he said before his departure for Washington.

Hammond also said he would call on countries to pay their fair share to the IMF. Britain's finance ministry said Hammond was speaking on the environment as part of a new grouping of finance ministers led by Finland and Chile called the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, which was formed after the last IMF meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in October.

Hammond is also due to speak to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Chinese finance minister Liu Kun to discuss trade and investment after Brexit, as well as Brazil's new economy minister Paulo Guedes. (Reporting by David Milliken and William Schomberg Editing by Paul Simao)