THE Bishop of Salisbury has condemned President Trump’s decision to revoke the United States’ ratification of the the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, who is the Church of England’s lead bishop on the environment said he was “disturbed” by the president’s decision to revoke what he called a “global commitment made in good faith”.

He said: “Climate change is one of the great challenges of our times. There is a moral and spiritual dimension with a strong consensus built among the faith communities about the care of our common home. The scientific, economic and political arguments point in the same direction.

The Paris Agreement, signed by 194 other countries, is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation.

Revd Holtam said:”For the US government to withdraw from taking responsible action in keeping with the Paris agreement is an abject failure of leadership. The USA emits nearly a fifth of global CO2 emissions.

“How can President Trump look in the eye the people most affected, including the world’s poorest in the places most affected by climate change now, and those affected by increasingly frequent extreme weather in parts of the USA? The leader of what used to be called ‘the new world’ is trapped in old world thought and action.

“President Trump has not recognised the economic potential of renewable energy which represents a paradigm shift capable of generating sustainable prosperity. What will our children and grandchildren say to us about the way we respond to this extreme carelessness?

The Bishop said that in challenging the decision, churches and other faith leaders must speak out and commended the American churches already taking action.

He added: "This decision is wrong for the USA and for the world.Ours is the first generation which cannot say we did not know about the human impact on climate change.”