Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, R., pushed back against climate change activists for perpetuating the idea that Miami could soon be underwater thanks to rising ocean levels.
"It's obvious why they're coming after Miami," Suarez said Saturday on Fox News' "Lawrence Jones Cross Country." "They can't protect their citizens, that can't keep their taxes low, and they're rejecting high-paying jobs in their own communities, so they have to go after something, and this is what they've chosen to go after."
He told Lawrence Jones on Saturday that the green energy ideologues are inciting fear that planning to do business in Miami is not the best decision since the city is ill-fated due to climate change.
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"They've chosen to tell people, ‘Miami is going to be underwater, so don’t invest in Miami,' never mind the fact that Miami has suffered less hurricane damage New York City since Sandy, never mind the fact that FEMA just downgraded our risk profile because we spent hundreds of millions of dollars making Miami more resilient, never mind the fact that the Netherlands are under sea level for 400 years…," he said.
Suarez added that men and women have been able to "engineer" solutions for climate-related issues, but urged naysayers to look to the private sector to determine the city's trajectory for business instead of listening to his word alone.
"Believe the private sector," he said. "They just grew Miami by 12 percent, which is the second-most growth in reported history, so they are themselves betting on the long-term future prospects of our city…"
Jones drew comparison between Miami and liberal U.S. cities, pointing to the dirty, dingy streets in other major cities compared to the cleanliness seen in Miami.
"We care for our customers. We take care of our constituents. We care for our shareholders, and that's not happening in other American cities," Suarez said, slamming attacks against Miami as a pushback against success built on conservative leadership principles.
Suarez's remarks follow warning from climate activists' warning against settling in the city, including a recent piece from The Nation exploring whether people should begin preparing for the evacuation of Miami.
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"It’s urgent for governments and social movements to start planning for millions of people to land in new places," co-author Daniel Aldana Cohen wrote. "Prepping Miami’s evacuation is a perfect starting point. Its residents are a multiracial, multinational, and multigenerational assemblage that spans the class spectrum. Tragically, many of them are already climate migrants—like Puerto Ricans displaced by recent hurricanes."
The piece went on to explore how cities would need to look at preparations for a mass influx of Miami evacuees, including looks into higher taxation for the rich, infrastructure, combating police violence and more.
