Church leaders have appealed to Europe’s leaders not to sideline climate change in the face of the current financial crisis.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of the Church of Sweden and the Presiding Bishop of the German Evangelical Church expressed their concerns in a joint letter to French President and current President of the EU Council, Nicolas Sarkozy.

EU leaders must work to ensure “that climate considerations are not marginalised in the search to find short and medium term solutions to immediate economic pressures”, they said.

The warning from the Church heads comes as Europe’s leaders prepare to meet in Brussels on Friday and Saturday for a key summit to agree a strategy towards meeting ambitious targets on carbon emission cuts.

The Church leaders said they were concerned that some governments were trying to increase their share of the carbon credits that can be bought from developing countries instead of looking at how to decrease the carbon output from within the EU.

The Church leaders insisted that European governments take a more holistic approach to economic growth.

“The challenge of resuscitating economic growth cannot be treated in isolation from the challenges of promoting sustainable development. The choice is not between economic growth and environmental protection,” they said.

“Our economic and environmental fortunes are inextricably linked. Working sustainably for the global common good and respecting the integrity of God’s creation are not alternatives – they are one and the same.

“To think and act otherwise is neither ‘common’ nor ‘good’.”

The Church leaders said the current economic downturn presented the EU with the opportunity to build up a new greener economy.

“The current financial crisis and economic recession represent less a threat and more an historic opportunity to bring about tomorrow’s low carbon economy today.

“We are encouraged that US President-elect Barack Obama has responded to this challenge by pledging to invest $75 billion to create 5 million new ‘green collar’ jobs by 2020 as part of a wider package of measures on climate change.

“Although this pledge has yet to be realised, Europe’s leaders must not retreat from taking similar action,” they said.

Their appeal echoes the concerns of Christian aid and development agency Tearfund, which this week urged EU leaders not to go cold on the climate change commitments they agreed in Bali last year. These include a pledge to reduce emissions by 30 per cent by 2020 if other developed countries commit to comparable reductions under a new global agreement, currently being negotiated in Poznan, Poland, over the last week.

Tearfund’s Director of Advocacy Paul Cook is at the Poznan talks. He said the decision made by leaders there and at the Brussels summit would affect millions of people.

“Developing countries do not have time for rich countries to prevaricate on decisions that could literally save the lives of millions of the poorest people around the world,” he said. “Developing countries need more funds now.”

He continued: “There is a danger that the EU will fail to deliver both tough emissions targets and finance for the developing world - faltering on the two litmus tests for the Bali roadmap.

“These laws set Europe’s climate policy for the next ten years – we cannot afford a bad deal.”

Mr Cook accused developed countries, including Italy, Germany and Poland of “trying to wriggle out” of a commitment to cut their emissions by 25 to 40 per cent on 1990 levels.

“If Europe wavers over its commitment then developing countries could lose confidence in the Poznan talks.

“A global deal on climate must be agreed by the end of 2009, and it is essential that momentum is maintained to achieve this.”