Crisis? What crisis? White House hopeful Chris Christie says climate change is real, but he’s not worried

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie believes climate change is real. But “I don’t buy the fact that it’s a crisis,” he said.

“The climate’s always changing and we cannot say our activity doesn’t contribute to changing the climate. What I’m saying is it’s not a crisis,” Christie said Tuesday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, which went to Concord, New Hampshire, to interview the governor, who is riding a new wave of endorsements this week in the state that hosts the first presidential primary.

Asked what scientists he was relying on for that assessment, Christie said: “I didn’t say I was relying on any scientists. I don’t see evidence. I don’t see evidence that it’s a crisis.”

At a meeting of world leaders in France on Monday, US President Barack Obama said “the growing threat of climate change could define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other.”

The climate talks have drawn 30,000 diplomats and delegates and are aimed at reaching a global pact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At stake is “the future of the planet,” French President Francois Hollande said.

Christie — who has accused the president of devoting too much attention to climate change and not enough to fighting the Islamic State group — said Tuesday that Obama was “focused on the wrong climate change.”

“The climate change we need is a climate change in this country,” Christie said. “The climate right now between the people and their government is just poisonous. The climate right now between the races is as bad as it’s been in the last eight years.”