The pope criticised global decision-making bodies for being ineffective, as well as calling out climate deniers.

His strongly-worded intervention has been published in a major new update to his landmark 2015 paper on the environment.. He described some damage from climate change as “already irreversible”

The Pope criticised those who “deny, conceal, gloss over or relativise the issue”, saying that it was no longer possible to deny the human origins of climate change.

Pope Francis has made climate change a key pillar of his papacy. His 2015 encyclical, the highest level teaching document a pope can issue, signalled a shift for the Catholic Church.

Since then, the pope has made repeated calls for politicians to take concrete action to tackle climate change. He also took aim at “irresponsible lifestyles”, particularly in the Western world.

He said that emissions per person in the US were about two times greater than those living in China, and about seven times greater than those in the poorest countries.

The pope said a “broad change in the irresponsible lifestyle connected with the Western model”, would have a “significant long-term impact”.