Environment Secretary Liz Truss welcomed the Pope’s call for action on climate change yesterday — on the same day that her Tory government announced the axing of subsidies for renewable energy.

And in a further embarrassing blow to the government, its plan to axe subsidies for windfarms may face legal action north of the border as it could impact disproportionately on Scotland, where many of the farms were due to be built.

In his first papal encyclical — a high-level declaration — Pope Francis warned of the urgent need to tackle “extraordinary climate change and an unprecedented destruction of ecosystems.” He said climate change was mostly down to human activity — driven by rampant capitalism. He said policies were urgently needed to cut carbon emissions, including reducing fossil fuels and developing renewables.

The pontiff said that people in wealthy countries need to change their unsustainable lifestyles, as exploitation of the planet has already exceeded acceptable limits and millions of tons of waste are being generated, making the Earth look more and more “like an immense pile of filth.”

He warned that “doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain” and that resource shortages could lead to new wars.

The encyclical has been hailed by environmental groups as a major step forward on the crucial issue.

Speaking in the Commons, shadow environment secretary Maria Eagle asked Ms Truss: “Pope Francis, in a message to all the people of the world, is to say that climate change is mainly caused by human activity and threatens unprecedented destruction of the ecosystem.

“Do you agree with  your predecessor as environment secretary (Owen Paterson), a well-known climate changer denier, or do you agree with the Pope?”

The Tory frontbencher replied: “I do agree with the Pope and what I would say is this government is absolutely committed to tackling climate change.”

Yet on the same day Energy Secretary Amber Rudd unveiled plans to cut off the existing subsidies payment schemes for on-shore windfarms a year early, a move which critics say could lead to soaring energy bills and thousands of proposed wind turbines being mothballed.

Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing warned the government may face a judicial review. And environmental campaigners accused the Tories of attacking the cheapest form of clean energy, one which enjoys the support of 65 per cent of people.

Greenpeace UK campaigner Daisy Sands said: “Ministers have just moved to raise everyone’s energy bills by blocking the cheapest form of clean power while continuing to back the impossibly expensive Hinkley C and going all out for unpopular, risky and unproven fracking.”

And Green party leader Natalie Bennett called the plans “short-sighted and irrational.” She said the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s explanation of the cuts — “we have enough onshore wind now” — was laughable given how badly Britain is lagging behind other EU nations in its production of renewable energy.

Unite energy officer Kevin Coyne called the plans “misguided,” pointing out that wind provided 14 per cent of Britain’s energy needs last year.

“It is an invaluable component of a balanced energy policy which we have long been advocating,” he said.

“With the closure of coal-fired power stations and with the new generation of nuclear power stations yet to come on stream, it seems misguided to end these subsidies at this time.

“The UK faces a serious energy supply problem in the near future with the prospect of the lights going off.”