Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump said, he has an open mind about pulling out of world climate accords, speaking to a panel of New York Times journalists, Trump said, he is looking at UN climate accords very closely and have an open mind to it. But Trump said he also wanted to see how much the Paris climate accord will cost US companies and its impact on its competitiveness.

The Republican billionaire businessman has 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 last year after negotiations involving 195 countries. The agreement sets a goal of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial revolution levels.

The United States, the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after China, ratified the accord with strong backing from President Barack Obama.