South Suffolk MP Tim Yeo has claimed that remarks suggesting that “natural causes” may be partly to blame for global warming were taken out of context.
Mr Yeo, chair of the Energy and Climate Change Committee, posted a statement on his website after the Telegraph reported that he had said the causes of climate change are “not absolutely clear.”
According to the national newspaper the Tory MP, who is pushing to make Britain’s electricity supply almost entirely green, told a gathering of Russian investors that: “Although I think the evidence that the climate is changing is now overwhelming, the causes are not absolutely clear.
“There could be natural causes, natural phases that are taking place.”
Responding Mr Yeo said: “In the light of what has appeared on the Telegraph website suggesting that I have changed my views about climate change, I wanted to make clear that this is not the case.
“My views have remained the same for over two decades.
“I accept the overwhelming scientific evidence that human activities are having a major impact on the climate – there is an overwhelming probability that the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from human actions are contributing to climate change.
“The move to a low carbon economy is not just right environmentally but also in our economic interest.”
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