U.S. President Barack Obama cast the adoption of clean energy in the U.S. as “irreversible,” putting pressure on President-elect Donald Trump not to back away from a core strategy to fight climate change.

Mr. Obama, penning an opinion article in the journal Science, sought to frame the argument in a way that might appeal to the president-elect — in economic terms. He said the fact that the cost and polluting power of energy have dropped at the same time proves that fighting climate change and spurring economic growth aren’t mutually exclusive.