<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/ap_17160315340997_0.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/ap_17160315340997_0.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/ap_17160315340997_0.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > In this photo taken Wednesday, June 7, 2017, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry attends the opening ceremony of an international clean energy conference held in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Energy Secretary Rick Perry received a schooling on climate change Wednesday by a meteorological research group.

In response to Perry's declaration Monday that carbon dioxide was not the driving force behind global warming, Keith L. Seitter, executive director of the American Meteorological Society, sent a letter to the secretary making it very clear that he is misinformed.

"While you acknowledged that the climate is changing and that humans are having an impact on it, it is critically important that you understand that emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are the primary cause," Seitter wrote.

“This is a conclusion based on the comprehensive assessment of scientific evidence," he added. "It is based on multiple independent lines of evidence that have been affirmed by thousands of independent scientists and numerous scientific institutions around the world. We are not familiar with any scientific institution with relevant subject matter expertise that has reached a different conclusion.”

Seitter added that “without this fundamental understanding of the science, it is impossible to discuss potential policy changes in meaningful ways.”

The letter was sent after Perry told CNBC Squawk Box host Joe Kernen that carbon emissions are not the primary cause for climate change.

“No, most likely the primary control knob is the ocean waters and this environment that we live in,” Perry told Kernen.

In the interview, Perry seemed to suggest that those who question the scientific community’s findings on climate change may be taking a more intelligent approach.

“I think if you’re going to be a wise, intellectually engaged person, being a skeptic about some of these issues is quite all right,” he said.

Both NASA and NOAA reported in January that Earth’s temperatures in 2016 were the warmest ever . The planet’s average surface temperature rose 1.78 degrees Fahrenheit from the mid-20th century mean. In a joint statement, the agencies said the change was "driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere.”

In his letter, Seitter acknowledged that “skepticism and debate are always welcome and are critically important to the advancement of science,” but stressed that the science behind findings that CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions are driving global warming is “extremely well established.”

“In climate science, unresolved questions remain — issues that currently lack conclusive evidence,” Seitter wrote. “However, there are also very solid conclusions that are based on decades of research and multiple lines of evidence.”

“Skepticism that fails to account for evidence is no virtue,” Seitter pointed out, before offering his agency's help.

"The American Meteorological Society and its members have been studying these issues for many years," Seitter wrote. "We stand ready to work with you or your staff to explore how the science can be used effectively to address policy issues related to energy and climate for the benefit of the nation and the world."