Trump tells New York Times there is 'some connectivity' between humans and climate change
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump told The New York Times on Tuesday that he thinks there is "some connectivity" between human activity and climate change.
"Some, something," he said, according to Times editors and reporters who met with the president-elect. "It depends on how much."
The comment was an apparent departure from his previous sentiments, including a statement he made on Twitter in 2012 calling climate change a "hoax" created by the Chinese.
The meeting provided some insights into Trump's views on climate change and the Paris Agreement the US signed this year to reduce carbon emissions.
Here are the key quotes we've seen:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/801128249208242177
Does Trump think human activity is linked to climate change? “I think there is some connectivity. Some, something. It depends on how much."
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/801128484907192320
On climate change, Trump says he is also thinking about "how much it will cost our companies” & the effect on American competitiveness.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/801127600756170752
Tom Friedman asks if Trump will withdraw from climate change accords. Trump: “I’m looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it."
Gavin Schmidt, a top climate scientist at NASA, told Business Insider earlier this month that our best science shows human activity accounts for all of the warming since the 19th century — and perhaps a bit more, because trends suggest we should be in a slow cooling period right now.
The questions asked Tuesday are among the first direct ones Trump has faced on climate change. Critics of Trump's previous stances on climate change might detect reason for optimism.
Trump seemed to suggest at least an openness to engaging with science and policy issues regarding the climate. He also suggested he might not pull out of the Paris Agreement, though he didn't lend any specifics or details.
The Trump transition website still contains a statement that current climate change policy is a "radical political agenda." And Trump has picked Myron Ebell, who is known for denying climate change, to head his Environmental Protection Agency transition.
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