APPER: But I want to ask you a question about climate change.
The director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, said in a January report on worldwide threats that the climate emergency is -- quote -- "likely to fuel competition for resources, economic distress and social discontent."
It is a priority for the DNI, Coats.
The EPA this week, however, rolled back part of President Obama's Clean Power Plan, letting states set their own limit for coal power plants emissions.
Do you believe think human-induced climate emergency is a threat to the United States?
PENCE: Well, what -- what I will tell you is that we will always follow the science on that in this administration.
TAPPER: The science says it is.
PENCE: But what -- but what we -- but what we won't do -- and the Clean Power Plan was all about that -- was hamstringing energy in this country, raising the cost of utility rates for working families across this country...
TAPPER: But is it a threat?
PENCE: ... while other nations like China and India absolutely do nothing or make illusory promises decades down the road to deal with it.
You know, the truth of the matter is, with the advent of natural gas, with the natural gas explosion that is developing...
TAPPER: Yes.
PENCE: ... with clean coal technology, we're seeing -- we're seeing a significant reduction in carbon emissions all across this country.
TAPPER: But is what people are calling a climate emergency, is it a threat? Do you think it is a threat, man-made climate emergency is a threat?
PENCE: I think the answer to is going to be based upon the science.
TAPPER: Well, the science says yes.
PENCE: Well...
TAPPER: I'm asking you what you think.
PENCE: There is many in the science that...
TAPPER: The science community in your own administration, at NOAA...
PENCE: I got it.
TAPPER: ... at the DNI, they all say it is a threat.
PENCE: I got it. Look, what the President...
TAPPER: But you won't, for some reason.
PENCE: ... has said, what we have said is that we're not going to raise utility rates.
Remember what President Obama said?
TAPPER: But it is not a threat?
PENCE: He said -- he said -- he had his climate change plan. He said it is necessarily going to cause utility rates to skyrocket, and that would force us into these green technologies.
Now you have got Democrats all running for president that are running on a Green New Deal that would break this economy.
TAPPER: OK. So you don't think it is a threat, is all I'm saying? You don't think it is a threat?
PENCE: I think we're making great progress reducing carbon emissions, America has the cleanest air and water in the world. We will continue to use market forces...
TAPPER: That is not true. We don't have the cleanest air and water in the world.
We don't.
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