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David Suzuki says he wasn’t necessarily taking aim at all people working in the energy sector when he compared the oilsands industry to the American slave trade.

In a radio interview on Monday, the environmental activist suggested that those who argue efforts to reduce greenhouse gases must consider economic impacts do not sound all that different from slave owners from the 19th century.

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Several times, host Evan Solomon gave Suzuki an opportunity to clarify his statement — at one point asking him if he wanted to “put some nuance on that one,” especially given how many Canadians work in the industry.

But the Canadian scientist and broadcaster doubled-down.

“It’s a moral issue. The issue of climate change is not an economic issue,” he said.

However, Suzuki later sent an email to the program, Everything is Political on the SiriusXM network, to clarify that he wasn’t going after all those working in the industry, according to a column posted online Tuesday by Yael Berger, a senior producer.