Pope Francis: ‘History will judge’ a lack of action on climate change

Pope Francis warned that “history will judge” a lack of action on climate change and urged doubters to talk to scientists who study the issue.

“These aren’t opinions pulled out of thin air. They are very clear,” Francis told reporters after a trip to Colombia, The Associated Press reports. “Then [leaders] decide and history will judge those decisions.”

Francis added that “those who deny this must go to the scientists and ask them. They speak very clearly.”

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Francis has made action on the environment a key goal of his papacy. In 2015, he published a papal encyclical blaming climate change on human activity and sharply criticizing world leaders for not moving quickly enough to address the problem. 

The pope spoke about climate change during his speech before Congress later that year. He gave a copy of his encyclical to President Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax,” when the two met in Rome earlier this year. 

Asked about people who deny the science behind climate change, Francis said Sunday that “man is stupid.”

He added, “When you don’t want to see, you don’t see.”