Trump Changing His Stance on Climate Change

Donald Trump's recent presidential election victory has posited a lot of questions for a lot of different fields. The president-elect, after all, has some very choice opinions for matters that concern not only the country but also the entire world.

Unsurprisingly, scientists working on alleviating the effects of climate change are worried about the future of their projects. Before his campaign, Trump expressed his doubts over the legitimacy of climate change. In a tweet sent out from Trump's twitter account in 2012, the New York magnate claimed that climate change is nothing more than a hoax created by the Chinese.

"The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive" read the tweet as reported by the Telegraph.

With his victory, it seems like the former reality show staple is backing down from his initial sentiments towards climate change. In an interview with reporters from New York Times, Trump told the press that he believes human activity may affect the climate.

"I think there is some connectivity. Some, something. It depends on how much" explained Trump as reported by Fox News.

During the conversation, the president-elect also addressed his intentions to withdraw from the Paris agreement that aims to reduce greenhouse gases.

According to Trump, he has to consider how much adherence to the Paris agreement would cost American companies. He worries that efforts to reduce greenhouse gases would affect the competitiveness of the U.S. Nevertheless, he is open to the agreement and is currently taking measures to understand more about it:

"I'm looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it,"

Donald Trump would officially assume the role of president of the United States early next year. Inauguration day is scheduled for January 20, 2017 at 12 noon.