VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis wants concrete action to combat the "emergency" of plastics littering seas and oceans.

Francis made the appeal in a message Saturday to galvanize Christians and others to work to save what he hails as the "marvelous," God-given gift of the "great waters and all they contain."

He said efforts to fight plastics litter must be waged "as if everything depended on us."

The pope also denounced as "unacceptable" the privatization of water resources at the expense of the "human right to have access to this good."

Environmental protection is a priority of his papacy.

Francis urged politicians to apply "farsighted responsibility" and generosity in dealing with climate change, as well migration policies including about those who "risk their lives at sea in search of a better future."