Churches, bishops, the pope and Christian charities are uniting in horror at Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate change agreement.

Widespread condemnation also came from world leaders with German chancellor Angela Merkel calling the move 'extremely regrettable' and the UK Prime Minister Theresa May telling Trump she was 'disappointed' by the decision.

Trump said he was prepared to discuss a new deal but backed out of the existing one joining only Syria, Nicaragua as countries not participating.

He said the deal 'punished' the US and would cost American jobs.

'I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,' he said.

The Church of England's lead bishop on environmentalism, Bishop of Salisbury Nick Holtam, said he was 'frankly, very disturbed' by the announcement.

'How can President Trump look in the eye the people most affected, including the world's poorest in the places most affected by climate change now, and those affected by increasingly frequent extreme weather in parts of the USA?

'The leader of what used to be called 'the new world' is trapped in old world thought and action,' he said, adding the decision was 'an abject failure of leadership' and showed how 'out of touch President Trump is'.

The Vatican issued a sharp rebuke saying the move would be a 'slap in the face' to the Pope after Francis gave him a copy of his encyclical on climate change last week.

Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, who leads the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, compared Trump's climate scepticism to believing the earth was flat.

'Saying that we need to rely on coal and oil is like saying that the earth is not round. It is an absurdity dictated by the need to make money,' he said.

Christian Aid's climate lead Mohamed Adow warned the move could end America's supremacy in the world.

'Thankfully this grossly irresponsible act will not stop the worldwide transition to a low-carbon economy. Addressing climate change is inescapable. The rest of the world recognise that it's in their interests to decarbonise their economies and slow the heating of the planet. They will not let one man destroy our common home,' he said.

'The US must face the consequences of this decision and the international isolation it has brought upon itself. Angela Merkel was quite clear last week that America could no longer be relied upon as an international ally. Pulling out of the Paris Agreement does not make America great, it diminishes it in the eyes of the world.'

Tearfund's head of advocacy, Paul Cook, said the US was walking away from international leadership.

'Now, more than ever, we need to unite in our personal commitment to living sustainably, in ways like switching to renewable energy, flying less, eating less meat, and continuing to challenge our governments to do more to tackle climate change,' he said.