Pope pushes world leaders on climate after Trump’s election

Pope Francis is asking world leaders to quickly implement international climate deals, making his first major statement on climate change since Donald Trump won the presidential election and promised to end U.S. involvement in climate work. 

“The ‘distraction’ or delay in implementing global agreements on the environment shows that politics has become submissive to a technology and economy which seek profit above all else,” Francis said during a meeting with scientists on Monday, Reuters reported. 

{mosads}Francis knocked leaders who do not believe the science behind climate change, noting “the ease with which well-founded scientific opinion about the state of our planet is disregarded.”

Francis added a call for “an ecological conversion capable of supporting and promoting sustainable development.”

His comments come as environmentalists and the energy industry brace for Trump to take office next year. 

During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to “cancel” the Paris climate deal, a landmark agreement on international greenhouse gas emissions reached last year. He also disputes the science behind climate change. 

Trump last week told The New York Times that he will have an “open mind” on the climate deal, but his incoming chief of staff, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, last weekend said Trump’s “default position” on climate science is that it’s “a bunch of bunk.”

The pope has been a vocal advocate for action on climate change, writing an encyclical last year urging Catholics to pay attention to the issue. He also delivered warnings about climate change during an address to Congress last year.