Kasim Reed is not alone in his disappointment over President Donald Trump’s decision Thursday to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.
A survey of some of the nine serious candidates who hope to succeed the Atlanta mayor also said Trump’s decision could have grave consequences, but said they would continue to fight to improve the city’s and the world’s climate if elected.
“We must act today if we are to preserve the Atlanta of tomorrow,” said candidate Peter Aman, the city’s former COO under Reed. “As mayor, I will work to ensure every community in our city has access to clean water and air, renewable energy, and expanded transportation and housing options so all of our citizens can participate in Atlanta’s continued economic growth.”
Cathy Woolard, the former president of the Atlanta City Council, called the president’s decision a “gut check.”
“As city council president, I started Atlanta’s first energy conservation program,” Woolard said in a Facebook post. “We have a moral responsibility to ensure that the excesses of our carbon based economy don’t cause misery to the poorest of the poor and leave an irreversible legacy for our future generations to endure.”
In a Thursday speech in the White House Rose Garden, Trump decried the costs of the global agreement on Americans and said, "I was elected to represent Pittsburgh, not Paris."
Reed expressed his disappointment with the withdrawal a day before the president's announcement.
“The president has made a disappointing decision today to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, and by extension, global leadership,” Reed said in a statement Wednesday.
Sustainability and environmental improvements have been one Reed’s big pushes as mayor. The city’s successes include a 12.5 percent reduction in greenhouse gases in Atlanta, a 25 percent reduction in energy use at City Hall and 13 percent decrease in water use at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves said Trump’s action did not “make American great.
“In fact, it not only disconnects us from the rest of the world, it makes us a follower instead of being a leader,” Eaves said. “When I am mayor of Atlanta, I will do everything in my power to ensure that we do our part to curb carbon emissions, so those future generations of Atlantans will have a healthy city in which to live and thrive.”
Ceasar Mitchell, the current president of the Atlanta City Council, said that Trump made his decision not on science, “but on the shouts and screams of his supporters.
“President Trump may not wish to carry the mantle of responsibility to our planet, but we can still do our part,” Mitchell said. “As city council president, and as your next mayor, I pledge today to pick up what he has dropped and make Atlanta do her part under the spirit of the Paris Climate Agreement.”
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