US President-elect Donald Trump said he has an open mind about pulling out of world climate accords and admitted global warming may be in some way linked to human activity.
"I think there is some connectivity. Some, something. It depends on how much," he told a panel of New York Times journalists.
Asked whether he would make good on his threat to pull the United States out of UN climate accords, he said: "I'm looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it."
But he said he was also wanted to see how much the Paris climate accord "will cost our companies" and its impact on US competitiveness.
He has previously called climate change a "hoax" perpetrated by China and threatened to pull out of the agreement on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
The accord was reached in Paris in December 2015 after negotiations involving 195 countries. The worldwide pact to battle global warming took effect on 4 November.
The agreement sets a goal of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 2C over pre-industrial revolution levels.
The United States, the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after China, ratified the accord in early September, with strong backing from President Barack Obama.
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Aide says Trump will not push for Clinton investigation
Mr Trump will not push for further investigation of Hillary Clinton related to her private email use and the Clinton Foundation, a close adviser said, breaking with a key campaign theme.
Mr Trump made an unprecedented campaign threat to jail his Democratic rival should he win the White House.
He made Mrs Clinton's email scandal and allegations of pay-to-play at her family foundation a core theme of his campaign, railing against her "crimes" and leading fired-up supporters in chants of "Lock her Up!"
But since his election he has deflected questioning on the subject, saying in an interview he would think about it, but had other priorities as incoming head of state.
"I think when the president-elect... tells you before he's even inaugurated that he doesn't wish to pursue these charges, it sends a very strong message, tone, and content" to fellow Republicans, Trump aide Kellyanne Conway said.
Ms Conway told CNN that Mrs Clinton "still has to face the fact a majority of Americans don't find her to be honest or trustworthy."
Trump outlines plans to withdraw from trade accord, investigate visa abuses
The President-elect has outlined plans for his first day in office, including withdrawing from a major trade accord and investigating abuses of work visa programmes, as he met cabinet hopefuls at his Manhattan office tower.
Mr Trump met Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, Democratic US Representative Tulsi Gabbard and former Texas Governor Rick Perry.
But he announced no further appointments, keeping candidates and the public guessing about the shape of the administration that will take office on 20 January.
Ms Fallin, Ms Gabbard and Mr Perry were the latest of dozens of officials who have made their way across the lobby of Trump Tower for talks with the Republican president-elect in a relatively open - and unconventional - transition process since his election victory on 8 November.
Mr Trump, who has not held a news conference since his election, issued a video yesterday evening outlining some of his plans for his first day in office, including formally declaring his intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, trade deal, which he called "a potential disaster for our country".
.@transition2017 update and policy plans for the first 100 days. pic.twitter.com/HTgPXfPWeJ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2016
The 12-nation TPP is Democratic President Barack Obama's signature trade initiative and was signed by the United States earlier this year but has not been ratified by the US Senate.
The president-elect said he would replace the accord with bilaterally negotiated trade deals that would "bring jobs and industry back onto American shores".
"My agenda will be based on a simple core principle: putting America first. Whether it's producing steel, building cars or curing disease, I want the next generation of production and innovation to happen right here on our great homeland, America, creating wealth and jobs for American workers," he said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said yesterday the TPP "would be meaningless without the United States".
Mr Trump said he would cancel some restrictions on producing energy in the United States on his first day in office, particularly shale oil and "clean coal," which he said would create "many millions of high-paying jobs".
He promised to direct the Labor Department to investigate abuses of visa programmes for immigrant workers.
'We've got to get it right'
Mr Trump has so far picked two cabinet members and three top White House advisers but it is not clear when he will make more appointments.
"They could come this week, they could come today, but we're not in a rush to publish names," Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser, told reporters. "We've got to get it right."
Mr Trump spoke often with reporters camped out at his New Jersey golf course over the weekend, but has not held a traditional news conference to talk about his priorities.
He held an off-the-record meeting with a group of television anchors and executives yesterday afternoon and was scheduled to meet print media representatives today.
The Washington Post reported that four participants at yesterday's meeting described it as a contentious but generally respectful session.
They told the Post that Mr Trump singled out reporting of his campaign by CNN and NBC that he considered to be unfair.
US Holocaust museum alarmed over 'hateful speech' by white nationalists
Meanwhile, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum expressed alarm yesterday over "hateful speech" at a white nationalist meeting over the weekend, and a restaurant apologised for hosting the group after a woman tweeted a picture of herself making a Nazi salute.
The National Policy Institute, a think-tank that is part of the alt-right movement that includes neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites, held a gathering at the federally owned Ronald Reagan Building on Saturday.
The alt-right movement came to the fore during the US presidential election. President-elect Trump has drawn criticism for naming Steve Bannon, former head of a website linked to the alt-right, as his chief White House strategist.
Mr Trump's transition team issued a statement yesterday saying Mr Trump has continued to denounce racism, CNN reported.
"President-elect Trump has continued to denounce racism of any kind and he was elected because he will be a leader for every American," Trump-Pence Transition spokesman Bryan Lanza said in a statement.
