Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg stressed Tuesday the importance of immediate action on climate change, saying "it begins with this election."He was responding to a question at a town hall about climate change posed by an Australian student visiting Iowa, who raised concern over extreme weather events taking place around the world, including the recent bushfires that have engulfed large swathes of Australia.

"The UN scientists say we have until 2030 to make big moves. That's the scientific deadline," Buttigieg said.

"If 2030 is the scientific deadline, that means 2020 is the political deadline because if we don't have a leader who believes in climate science immediately, we're never going to be able to take the immediate steps to make it possible. So it begins with this election."

He spoke to a crowd of about 400 people at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa on Tuesday afternoon.Buttigieg made a number of stops across Iowa on Tuesday, in the week leading up to the state's first-in-the-nation caucuses.

(Image Credit: AP)