WASHINGTON (AP) — Energy Secretary Rick Perry says he does not believe carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming, a statement at odds with mainstream scientific consensus but in line with the head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Perry was asked Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” whether carbon emissions are primarily responsible for climate change and said no. He added that “the most likely the primary control knob is the ocean waters and this environment that we live in.”

Perry’s view contradicts mainstream climate science, including NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told “Squawk Box” in March that “there’s tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact” of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Perry said humans affect the environment but said policy changes are debatable.

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