Pope Francis will make a stop in Cuba before his first papal visit to the United States in September. File Photo Stefano Spaziari/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama and Pope Francis will discuss climate change during September's anticipated papal visit to the United States.

Obama said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that he will speak to the pope about global poverty and called the pope "an extraordinary individual, a transformative leader, not just within the Catholic Church, but globally."


"We're going to talk about climate change I'm sure because he is very clear that part of the Church's teachings, and part of my faith, is that we have to be good stewards of this incredible planet we've been given, and there are steps that can be taken there," Obama added.

Francis is set to deliver an encyclical, or papal letter sent to all bishops of church, this summer on the degradation of the environment and the effects of human-caused climate change on the poor, according to The New York Times.

The Vatican will begin a summit meeting on Tuesday attempting to build momentum for an effort in December to commit United Nations members to enact strong laws to cut emissions. The meeting will focus on the links between economic development, poverty and climate change. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will deliver the opening address at the summit.

The Vatican recently announced that Pope Francis will make a stop in Cuba in September before his scheduled visit to the United States.

Francis' itinerary for his first papal visit to the United States in September will include stops in Philadelphia, New York and Washington, D.C.