Religious traditions have unique insights into the stewardship of the natural world, environment secretary Michael Gove argued at a lecture for the Theos theological think tank yesterday.

Gove, a Roman Catholic, quoted extensively from Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si, which calls for Christians to work for social and environmental justice.

He said humans have 'caused environmental damage and deterioration on a dramatic scale in the last century, with pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, habitat erosion, soil depletion, soil depletion and deforestation' and suggested many of the answers needed lie within religious traditions. As well as drawing on Christianity, he cited Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and Sikh writers.

Gove referred to the 'polarised' views of those who advocate lower growth in the name of sustainability and those who argue for accelerating innovation and the power of science to 'reshape our expectations of the possible'.

He said: 'It is my belief that faced with these two powerful and contending visions, the wisest way forward rests in harnessing the best of both.'

It is important to consider 'how we manage our way out of methods of production and patterns of consumption which are wasteful and profligate', he said, 'the best way to ensure we use limited resources more wisely is to increase the productivity of those resources, through restraint, re–use and recycling, all of which are made easier by technological advance'.

'If, as Christians, we believe creation is a gift we must preserve, then we also believe creativity is a gift we must use to the full,' he said.

He concluded: 'The chance is still ours to forge a new relationship with the planet. As religious leaders down the ages have urged, we can be better stewards of our earth and plant a harvest for the world. And that is surely a mission which can unite us all.'