Spain has offered to host the United Nations' COP25 climate change summit in Madrid in December, following Chile's withdrawal as host amid raging street protests in the South American nation, Chile's President Sebastian Pinera said Thursday.

"Yesterday I spoke to acting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who made a generous offer to host the COP25 summit in Madrid," Pinera said, adding that it might still go ahead on the original scheduled dates of December 2-13.

The Spanish government said in a statement on Thursday that Pedro Sanchez was ready to do what was needed to host the summit in Madrid.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the formal meeting of parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The summit is aimed at fleshing out details of the implementation of the landmark Paris Agreement climate pact, amid calls for urgent action from environmental groups and climate protesters.

(Cover image: Acting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 24, 2019. /Reuters File)

(With input from Reuters)