Donald Trump delivered a zinger about Pittsburgh, but there are some problems with it

• Trump declared Thursday that he was "elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris."
• But the people of Pittsburgh voted for Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by a 16-point margin.
• The agreement to limit carbon emissions still enjoys the support of Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.

Declaring that he was "elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris," President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the historic U.S. withdrawal from the 194-nation Paris global climate change accord.

He might have checked first with the people of Pittsburgh, who voted for Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, by a 16-point margin, in the 2016 presidential election.

The global agreement to limit carbon emissions to head off global climate change still enjoys the support of the local Pittsburgh mayor, Democrat Bill Peduto, who tweeted a response following' Trump's quip.

"As the Mayor of Pittsburgh, I can assure you that we will follow the guidelines of the Paris Agreement for our people, our economy & future"

Trump said the Paris agreement is more about other nations gaining a "financial advantage" over the U.S. than it is about climate change. The president said the deal, which he promised to try to renegotiate, gives "countries an economic edge over the United States," adding, "that's not going to happen while I'm president."

Shortly after the announcement, France, Italy and Germany issued a statement that they "firmly" believe that the Paris climate deal can't be renegotiated, Reuters reported.

Peduto was joined by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which said it strongly opposes Trump's decision and vows that the nation's mayors will continue efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.

Cheriss May | NurPhoto | Getty Images

On Thursday, Oct. 6, in the East Room of the White House, President Barack Obama stops to say hi to Bill Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh, before leaving at the end of the ceremony honoring the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The mayors said in a statement Thursday that the U.S. and other nations need to address climate change to become energy independent, self-reliant and resilient.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, the group's vice president, called climate change a grave threat to coastal communities, the nation and the world. He said that if unchecked, sea-level rise caused by climate change could mean that New Orleans and other coastal cities "will cease to exist."

Landrieu said withdrawal from the Paris agreement "is shortsighted and will be devastating to Americans in the long run."

The U.S. had agreed under former President Barack Obama to reduce emissions to 26 percent to 28 percent of 2005 levels by 2025 — about 1.6 billion tons

Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement could be a major setback to the global effort to slow climate change, but it won't slow state-level efforts.

The push to promote renewable energy sources, underway in 37 states and the District of Columbia, has already produced a marked slowing in the growth of carbon emissions, and the impact can be measured from one state to another.