Watch Michael Bloomberg Talk 2016 Election, Climate Goals on ‘Colbert’
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared on The Late Show on Wednesday to urge city and state governments to combat global warming, particularly to combat the increasing prevalence of tropical storms that are destroying communities.
“We can make a difference,” said Bloomberg, who collaborated with former chairman of the Sierra Club, Carl Pope, on the book Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet.
“The science says things are getting warmer, and they will continue to get warmer unless we reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. The federal government has decided to do nothing; citizens – companies, individuals, local governments – have said, ‘ok, we’re going to take it into our own hands.'”
Later he added, “we are going to meet our goals that we agreed to in Paris even without the federal government.” President Trump announced his intention to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord – an agreement to fight global warming signed by 195 nations – this summer.
Though the business community has long denied the existence of climate change, Bloomberg suggested it was in the interest of all executives to start taking global warming seriously. “There’s a risk and a business person would take appropriate protections,” he said. “You don’t think you’re gonna die, but you still buy a life insurance policy.”
Bloomberg also briefly addressed last year’s presidential election, which he considered entering as a third-party candidate. He said he doesn’t regret not running for president, though Colbert added “we regret you not running.”
“My advisors told me that a New York billionaire who changed parties a number of times couldn’t be elected,” Bloomberg joked. “So I fired them.”