Bloomberg thanks Trump: Pulling out of Paris deal a ‘rallying cry’ for environmentalists

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) said Tuesday that President Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement has served as a “rallying cry” for environmentalists and boosted efforts to fight climate change.

“The fact that President Trump has a different view has been a rallying cry for the pro-environmentalists groups. And that has been very helpful,” Bloomberg said at a news conference in Paris, according to Time magazine.

“So I just want to thank him for all of his assistance,” he added. “There is not a thing that Washington can do to stop it.”

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Bloomberg, who was in Paris for a climate summit, has been an outspoken advocate for efforts to fight climate change, helping to launch an organization earlier this year aimed at fulfilling the U.S. commitment under the Paris agreement.

That group, America’s Pledge, is comprised of a number of U.S. states, businesses and universities that have vowed to help the U.S. reach its commitments under the accord.

Trump in June announced his intention to back out of the 195-nation accord, arguing that it would hurt economic and job growth in the U.S. while allowing countries like India and China to continue to expand their use of fossil fuels.

He said he would seek to renegotiate the deal, though other world leaders have rebuffed that notion.

The Paris agreement marked the first coordinated international effort to mitigate the effects of climate change by having countries set goals for reducing carbon emissions.