The Archbishop of Canterbury apologised today for suggesting climate change could be a “genocide on an infinitely greater scale” than that committed by Nazi Germany.
Justin Welby made the rare public withdrawal of his remarks after he said world leaders will be “cursed” if they do not deal with climate change.
Speaking to the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg, he said: “People will speak of them in far stronger terms than we speak today of the politicians of the 30s, of the politicians who ignored what was happening in Nazi Germany.
“Because this will kill people all around the world for generations, and we have will have no means of averting it.”
Asked if he was saying a failure to act on climate change would be worse than allowing a genocide to happen, he replied: “It will allow a genocide on an infinitely greater scale.
“I’m not sure there's grades of genocide, but there's width of genocide.
“And this will be genocide indirectly, by negligence, recklessness, that will in the end come back to us or to our children and grandchildren.”
The Archbishop, who entered the Church after an 11-year career in the oil industry, made the comments at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
He later tweeted: “I unequivocally apologise for the words I used when trying to emphasise the gravity of the situation facing us at COP26.
“It's never right to make comparisons with the atrocities brought by the Nazis, and I'm sorry for the offence caused to Jews by these words.”
Asked if the comments were appropriate, Boris Johnson's spokesman said: "It’s a matter for individuals how they choose to frame it. I think world leaders, those attending here, understand how serious the situation is."
The Archbishop also told the BBC climate change was "the long term equivalent of a nuclear war", adding: "The politicians who are here today, the heads of government, the heads of state, in two generations' time they will be remembered for this fortnight, and probably this fortnight alone.
"They could have been brilliant in everything else they've done, and they will be cursed if they don't get this right.
"They could have been rubbish at everything else they've done. But if they get this right, the children of today will rise up and bless them in 50 years."
