Obama: Leaders Who Joke About Climate Change Are ‘Not Fit to Lead’

President Obama condemned political leaders who continue to express skepticism about global warming during a speech at the GLACIER conference in Alaska this evening.

“The science is stark, it is sharpening,” he said, asserting that climate change was happening even faster than predicted.

Obama warned of a doomsday future if climate change was unchecked, warning of a future with “submerged countries,” “abandoned cities” and political disruptions and conflicts.

“Any leader willing to take a gamble on a future like that — any so-called leader that does not take this issue seriously or treats it like a joke — they’re not fit to lead,” he said sternly.

Obama asserted that climate change was real and that it was “beyond dispute” that man was contributing to the problem.

“The time to plead ignorance is surely past. Those who want to ignore the science, they are increasingly alone,” he said. “They are on their own shrinking island.”

He also warned that climate change would damage the planet for the world’s children, calling it “not-deniable.”

“If we do nothing to prevent glaciers from melting faster, and oceans from rising faster, and forests from burning faster, and storms from going stronger, we will condemn our children to a planet beyond their capacity to repair,” Obama said.

Obama visited the conference as part of a three day trip to Alaska during which he plans to hike to a glacier to inspect the melting levels.