Asked by the New York Times whether he would pull the US out of the Paris climate accord, the president-elect wavered on his previously stated position

Donald Trump has said he has an “open mind” over US involvement in the Paris agreement to combat climate change, after previously pledging to withdraw from the effort.

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Asked by the New York Times whether he would pull the US out of the Paris climate accord, which has been signed by 196 nations, Trump said: “I’m looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it.”

The president-elect also wavered on his previously stated position that climate change is a “hoax” and just a “very, very expensive form of tax”.

Questioned over the link between human activity and global warming, Trump said: “I think there is some connectivity. Some, something. It depends on how much.” He added that he was thinking about how the issue “will cost our companies”.

Trump’s partial acceptance of the overwhelming scientific view that burning fossil fuels is changing the climate, along with his equivocation over American involvement in the Paris deal, are subtle departures from the position he took during the presidential campaign.

Trump has said he would “cancel” the Paris climate agreement, which was ratified earlier this month and requires a three-year notice period to quit. The president-elect has said he would also cut all money spent on climate change aid to developing nations and slash clean energy funding.

The election of an apparent climate change denier to the US presidency has caused consternation among scientists and overseas climate negotiators, but some have voiced hope that Trump will follow a more pragmatic path that will avoid political fallout over the issue.

In Trump’s recent pronouncements on his first 100 days in power he has pledged to cancel money for climate change programs and lift restrictions upon fossil fuel exploration on public land, but made no mention of quitting the Paris deal.

Michael Brune, executive director of Sierra Club, said of his latest comments: “Talk is cheap, and no one should believe Donald Trump means this until he acts upon it. We’re waiting for action, and Trump is kidding nobody on climate as he simultaneously stacks his transition team and cabinet with climate science deniers and the dirtiest hacks the fossil fuel industry can offer. Prove it, president-elect. The world is watching.”