Rising Arctic temperatures will drive polar bears to extinction unless decisive action is taken on climate change, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The rapid decline of ice in the Arctic Circle is "the primary threat to polar bears," according to a new plan for protecting the animal.
"The single most important achievement for polar bear conservation is decisive action to address Arctic warming" caused by human-produced greenhouse gases, The Washington Post reports.
"Short of action that effectively addresses the primary cause of diminishing sea ice, it is unlikely that polar bears will be recovered," the plan said.
Some in the agency questioned their own efforts in light of president-elect Donald Trump's upcoming ascension to the White House.
"Even when we started the planning process, that was the discussion we were having … are we wasting our time here," Jenifer Kohout, Fish and Wildlife's Alaska region deputy assistant director and co-chair of the group that authored the plan, told the Post.
In December, Trump questioned the validity of climate change, saying on "Fox News Sunday" that "nobody really knows" if it's real, according to CNN.
"I'm still open-minded. Nobody really knows. Look, I'm somebody that gets it, and nobody really knows. It's not something that's so hard and fast."
Trump also said he hasn't made up his mind of whether the U.S. should withdraw from the environmental agreement reached in Paris about a year ago.
"Now, Paris, I'm studying. I do say this. I don't want that agreement to put us at a competitive disadvantage with other countries," he said.
"And as you know, there are different times and different time limits on that agreement. I don't want that to give China, or other countries signing agreements an advantage over us."
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