Climate change is a global issue that has local consequences, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman said.

ST. PETERSBURG – Mayor Rick Kriseman announced Friday (June 2)he has joined other mayors across the U.S. in a local effort to stick to the goals of the Paris climate agreement.

Kriseman’s statement came a day after President Donald Trump announced he would be pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Accord, an agreement to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change.

Kriseman’s statement followed a Thursday statement on his Facebook page in which he said he agreed with former President Barack Obama that “cities and counties and private sector must lead the way on climate. We simply have no choice.”

On Friday (June 2), Kriseman said, “For far too long our city has ignored the challenges created by our changing climate. My administration is the first in our city’s history to recognize the challenge of climate change and tackle it head on. I’m proud of our record on fighting climate change, from implementing curbside recycling to pledging to become a 100 percent clean energy city. I’m also proud to say that we will continue to uphold the agreement that President Barack Obama and 194 other nations came together to make in 2015. Climate change is a global force with local consequences, and our beautiful coastal city is no exception.”

Kriseman, who is running for his second term as mayor, is facing a challenge from former Mayor Rick Baker, who has criticized Kriseman for last summer’s overflows of raw and partially treated sewage into the bay during two heavy tropical storms. Kriseman called on Baker to take a stand on Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Accord.

Jacob Smith, Kriseman’s campaign manager, said, “Rick Baker should know better. As a former member of the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida, Rick Baker has chosen to be silent and side with Donald Trump over doing the right thing and speaking out against Trump’s irresponsible political move. St. Pete needs a mayor who will stand up to dangerous decisions coming out of the White House. Not one who buckles to their party’s president, refusing to even say the words ‘climate change.’”

For information about Kriseman, go to kriseman.com.

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