Justin Welby apologises for comparing climate threat to Nazi Germany

The Archbishop of Canterbury has apologised for comparing the climate threat to Nazi Germany.

Earlier today, in the context of the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, the Most Reverend Justin Welby was reported to have made reference to WWII. The BBC paraphrased him as saying that leaders will be “cursed” if they do not reach agreement over the next fortnight, and that a failure to act could be more grave than when the leaders of the free world ignored warnings about the Nazis in the 1930s.

However, Archbishop Welby has now apologised for the comparison, tweeting: “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.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Comparisons to Nazi Germany risk trivialising the suffering and murder of the six million men, women and children who died at the hands of that regime. Making such comparisons rarely strengthens one’s cause. Archbishop Welby should be commended for his rapid and unreserved apology.”