Rex Tillerson artfully dodges questions on whether human activity is responsible for climate change

Rex Tillerson.
(Image credit: Saul Loeb/Getty Images)

Former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, admitted Wednesday during his Senate confirmation hearing that the "risk of climate change does exist." "The consequences of it could be serious enough that action should be taken," Tillerson said, when asked to clarify his personal point of view on climate change.

While Tillerson admitted the reality of climate change, he dodged answering questions about whether humans are contributing to it. He said that although the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere is "having an effect," "our ability to predict that effect is very limited."

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