SYDNEY, June 25 -- Religious leaders have called upon Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to demonstrate moral leadership on climate change.

More than 150 religious leaders - including the heads of the Uniting Church in Australia, the Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils, Muslims Australia and the National Council of Churches - gathered in Sydney and issued an open letter to Mr Morrison.

They have urged the Prime Minister to make the climate change issue his number one priority.

"The climate situation is much more than a political or even a scientific issue. It is a profoundly moral one," the letter says.

Under the banner of Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, the group calls for a ban on new coal and gas proje...