Independent New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, citing climate change and its possible influence in creating Hurricane Sandy, has endorsed President Barack Obama.

"The devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to New York City and much of the Northeast -- in lost lives, lost homes and lost business -- brought the stakes of Tuesday’s presidential election into sharp relief," the businessman said in a statement released on Bloomberg.com.

Bloomberg said Obama had taken steps to reduce carbon consumption, including setting higher fuel efficiency standards for vehicles.

Bloomberg said Romney also had made strides in tackling the issue of climate change as governor of Massachusetts. But Bloomberg accused him of reversing his course.

"If the 1994 or 2003 version of Mitt Romney were running for president, I may well have voted for him," Bloomberg wrote.