Mary Bowerman

USA TODAY Network

Libertarian candidate for president Gary Johnson believes that humans aren't being shortsighted by ignoring climate change, but are simply taking the "long-term view."

“In billions of years, the sun is going to actually grow and encompass the Earth, right? So global warming is in our future,” the former New Mexico governor said during a 2011 National Press Club luncheon event.

In a 2011 clip, surfaced by Mother Jones, Johnson discusses his “long-term view” on climate change and his stance on government spending to combat climate change.

His thoughts: if the world is going to meet a fiery end, why throw money at the problem now?

Johnson notes in the 2011 speech, he does not believe the United States should be involved in cap and trade taxation, and should instead lend "certainty" to the energy fields.

"When you look at the amount of money we are looking to spend on global warming — in the trillions — and look at the result, I just argue that the result is completely inconsequential to the money we would end up spending," he said. "We can direct those moneys to other ways that would be much more beneficial to mankind."

Libertarian Gary Johnson says 2016 election is his last chance

The Libertarian candidate – whose RealClearPolitics polling average is about 9% — has been a popular candidate among millennial voters in the 2016 elections.

According to an August poll by the Pew Research Center, 70% of his supporters are younger than 50.

But Johnson’s views on tackling climate change appear to be in opposition to a large percentage of his supporters, Slatenotes.

According to a 2015 public poll by the Institute of Politics at Harvard, three in four Millennials believe that global warming is a fact. And numerous polls show that people want action.

Over the years, Johnson has reiterated that if the government "gets involved" in fighting climate money is essentially being thrown at a problem that will never be solved.

Johnson's campaign website acknowledges the climate is "probably" changing, and that man is "probably" contributing to that change.

"But the critical question is whether the politicians’ efforts to regulate, tax and manipulate the private sector are cost-effective – or effective at all," the website notes. "The debate should be about how we can protect our resources and environment for future generations."

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