Former US Vice President Al Gore, known for championing the fight against climate change, on Monday described his meeting with President-elect Donald Trump as a "productive" session

"It was a sincere search for areas of common ground," said Gore, who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for his efforts to curb climate change.

"I found it an extremely interesting conversation and, to be continued," Gore added.

Trump, who threatened to upend the 2015 Paris accord during his campaign, has vehemently denied the existence of climate change, describing it as a foreign "hoax."

"The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive," Trump said in a tweet.

"Let's continue to destroy the competiveness of our factories and manufacturing so we can fight mythical global warming. China is so happy," he said in another tweet.

Since his electoral victory in November, Trump has eased his tone on climate change, saying he has an "open mind" towards the relationship between human activity and climate change.

"I think there is some connectivity. Some, something. It depends on how much," Trump said during a post-election interview with "The New York Times."

The meeting comes as Trump works to fill his cabinet, with an expected announcement on his state secretary, the US' top diplomatic role, this week.

Environmental reactions to Trump victory Gray zone "Trump must choose whether he will be a President remembered for putting America and the world on a path to climate disaster, or for listening to the American public and keeping us on a path to climate progress. Trump better choose wisely, otherwise - we can guarantee him the hardest fight of his life every step of the way.” - Michael Brune, Executive Director, The Sierra Club

Environmental reactions to Trump victory Dry reality "Today is a bad day for international climate policy. That a climate change denier can be elected as the most powerful man in the world will make efforts to reduce emissions and secure adequate funding for adaptation measures all the more difficult... The international community needs reliable partners for ambitious climate policies." - Sabine Minninger, climate advisor for Brot für die Welt

Environmental reactions to Trump victory Out of control "The Paris Agreement was signed and ratified not by a President, but by the United States itself. As a matter of international law, and as a matter of human survival, the nations of the world can, must, and will hold the United States to its climate commitments." - Jean Su from California-based Center for Biological Diversity

Environmental reactions to Trump victory Green solutions "We know that yesterday's elections are undoubtedly going to affect the tone of the negotiations, but we know the task we have in front of us remains the same: that we must continue to keep our aim and our focus on the long-term that the countries set for themselves in the Paris Agreement." - Mariana Panuncio-Feldman, World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) Senior Director of International Climate Cooperation

Environmental reactions to Trump victory Slow death "For communities in the global south, the U.S. citizens' choice to elect Donald Trump seems like a death sentence. We are suffering the effects of climate change after years of inaction by rich countries... and with an unhinged climate change denier in the White House, the relatively small progress made is under threat." - Wilfred D'Costa, Asian Peoples' Movement on Debt and Development

Environmental reactions to Trump victory Opening the floodgates "President-elect Donald Trump's stance on global warming is well known. Ironically, he contributed to the popularity of our recent 'Turn down the heat'-report series for the World Bank by attacking it on Twitter. Yet apart from this, science cannot expect any positive climate action from him." - Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

Environmental reactions to Trump victory Washed up? "It's clear that Donald Trump is about to be one of the most powerful people in the world, but even he does not have the power to change the laws of physics... Climate change has become a geopolitical issue of the top order and no country can be perceived as not doing its fair share on climate without serious consequences for its standing in the world." - Alden Meyer, Union of Concerned Scientists

Environmental reactions to Trump victory A burning issue "As a young woman and first-time voter I will not tolerate Trump's denialism of the action needed for climate justice. Our country must undergo a systemic change and just transition away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy within my lifetime. The next four years are critical for getting on the right pathway." - Becky Chung, the youth network SustainUS.

Environmental reactions to Trump victory Time to be clean "The fact of climate change is not changed by what happened last night. At this very historic moment, it is important to remind ourselves that we were in the wilderness before and progress was possible. Leaders across the world will expect the US to honor its commitment and they won't wait in the race to the renewable energy future." - Li Shuo, Greenpeace China

Environmental reactions to Trump victory Shrinking opportunities “Donald Trump is the newly elected President of the United States. As of today, the Paris Agreement is an even stronger signal against denying reality and for global cooperation to solve the pressing problems of the world... You cannot ignore the facts." - Christoph Bals, Policy Director of Germanwatch

Environmental reactions to Trump victory Powerful force “Trump will try and slam the brakes on climate action, which means we need to throw all of our weight on the accelerator... We need the rest of the world to charge ahead and look beyond the White House to partner with civil society, businesses, and local governments who are still committed to climate action... Our work becomes much harder now, but it’s not impossible.” - 350.org

Environmental reactions to Trump victory Growing concern "Africa is already burning. The election of Trump is a disaster for our continent. The United States, if it follows through on its new President's rash words about withdrawing from the international climate regime, will become a pariah state in global efforts for climate action." - Geoffrey Kamese from Friends of the Earth Africa



ls/bw (Reuters, AP)