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Thursday, Nov 1, 2012 7:17 PM UTC

Bloomberg endorses Obama, citing climate change

The New York City mayor said global warming and the devastation of Hurricane Sandy influenced his decision

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Topics: 2012 Elections, Michael Bloomberg, New York City, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Hurricane Sandy, , ,

Bloomberg endorses Obama, citing climate changeNew York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, center, gives a thumbs up after ringing in the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

After the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his endorsement for Barack Obama , citing Obama’s stronger record on climate change: “This issue is too important. We need determined leadership at the national level to move the nation and the world forward.”

Writing on Bloomberg Voice, the New York City mayor said that the hurricane “brought the stakes of Tuesday’s presidential election into sharp relief.”

“Our climate is changing,” Bloomberg wrote. “And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it might be — given this week’s devastation — should compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.”

“We need leadership from the White House — and over the past four years, President Barack Obama has taken major steps to reduce our carbon consumption, including setting higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks,” he continued. “His administration also has adopted tighter controls on mercury emissions, which will help to close the dirtiest coal power plants (an effort I have supported through my philanthropy), which are estimated to kill 13,000 Americans a year.”

“Mitt Romney, too, has a history of tackling climate change. As governor of Massachusetts, he signed on to a regional cap- and-trade plan designed to reduce carbon emissions 10 percent below 1990 levels,” Bloomberg said, but added that “since then, he has reversed course, abandoning the very cap-and-trade program he once supported. This issue is too important. We need determined leadership at the national level to move the nation and the world forward.”

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Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com. More Jillian Rayfield.

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