Gov. John Kasich’s campaign has been scrambling to clear up the Republican presidential candidate’s stance on whether or not he believes in global warming after he told NBC News Sunday he didn’t want to “destroy people’s jobs based on some theory that’s not proven.”

Kasich told NBC’s Chuck Todd he believes humans have an impact on the environment, but cautioned against punitive regulations that could cripple the economy and kill jobs.

“Well, I think that man absolutely affects the environment. But as to whether, you know, what the impact is, the overall impact, I think that’s a legitimate debate.” Kasich said, touting his state’s environmental record. “So of course we have to be sensitive to it. But we don’t want to destroy people’s jobs based on some theory that’s not proven.”

Interestingly enough, liberal news outlets criticized Kasich for saying global warming was “some theory that’s not proven.” This forced his campaign to respond over social media, tweeting out a remarks Kasich made about global warming in 2012.

“He believes it is real and that humans play a significant factor and we need to do something about it,” a Kasich campaign spokesman told Politico in an emailed response, regarding the governor’s position on man-made global warming.

Kasich’s campaign also pointed Politico to other recent interviews where the governor talked about global warming without questioning the science. Kasich has been trying to position himself as a moderate Republican who believes in trying to find solutions to global warming.

“I am a believer—my goodness, I am a Republican—I happen to believe there is a problem with climate change,” Kaisich said in 2012. “I don’t want to overreact to it, I can’t measure it all, but I respect the creation that the Lord has given us, and I want to make sure we protect it.”

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