He is probably talking about the evidence that rises in CO2 follows temperature rises rather than precede it. Solubility of CO2 in water / ocean is highly sensitive to temperature changes (and Ph), and the oceans are a major CO2 sink. What you are referencing is the overwhelming evidence of correlation, and proof it is a greenhouse gas, but that doesn't mean there are not lingering variables in a complex system such as a climate.
Also, to the causation implied by the article, there could be no changes in the climate, and exposure is still a serious issue. A war causing a refugee crisis would dramatically increase the risk of exposure deaths without changes to the climate.
And if that were the case, might you understand some people being upset that someones house gets blown up, then they die on the streets, and people decry climate change without addressing the bombing of the house?