Pope Francis calls for radical decisions at Cop26

He said “radical decisions” are needed as the world faces a “succession of crises” in health care, the environment

Pope Francis is calling on political leaders heading to Cop26 to urgently tackle the climate crisis to give “concrete hope to future generations”.

He said “radical decisions” are needed as the world faces a “succession of crises” in health care, the environment, food supplies and the economy.

In a special Thought for the Day message for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the leader of the world’s Catholics cautioned against countries taking an isolationist approach, and called for a “renewed sense of shared responsibility for our world”.

His comments come as world leaders prepare to travel to Glasgow for the climate summit, where countries are under pressure to increase their ambition to tackle the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change. He will meet Joe Biden in Rome today ahead of the G20 summit before the US president moves on to Glasgow.