MIAMI -- Environmentalists hoping to prevent climate change have another powerful Republican advocate in Gov. Charlie Crist, who opened a two-day summit that launches him into a leadership role on an issue Democrats have championed more vocally.

Crist opened the Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate Change at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami with a promise that Florida will lower carbon dioxide emissions and make use of alternative energy sources.

"Scientists say that climate change could endanger Florida's agricultural industry, cause violent weather patterns and jeopardize also our water supply," the governor said.

Crist said the flat peninsular state has much to lose should ocean levels rise and a lot to gain if it takes a lead in developing renewable energy technologies.

"Droughts, endangered agriculture, violent storms and changing sea levels -- their impact on Florida's economy are just a few of the reasons why we must take action now," Crist said. "We must search for and put in practice climate friendly strategies for our families, our communities and, of course, our state."

Crist will also sign executive orders that will require utilities to lower carbon dioxide emissions and force state agencies to conserve energy and use biofuels when possible.

"Other states have done it," Crist said. "If other states have done it, why can't Florida?"

The governor is also trying to lead by personal example. His day-to-day vehicle runs on 85 percent ethanol and he's installing solar panels at the governor's mansion next week. He recently bought a new boat and made sure he chose an engine that is more fuel-efficient and burns cleaner.

"I turn the lights off when I leave the room," he said. "They seem like simple, menial things, but they're not. If everybody does it, that's better."

Environmentalists criticized Crist's predecessor, Gov. Jeb Bush, for not doing more to promote renewable energy. Likewise, critics said Bush's brother, President George W. Bush, hasn't taken the issue seriously.

"I don't know (why the Bush administration didn't attend the summit) and I'm not sure why not," Crist said, laughing. "But we're here."

Crist was careful not to admonish his fellow Republicans for not doing more, instead choosing to take politics out of the issue.

"We're all on the same planet and we all need to work together to continue to make sure that the environment is an issue that's at the forefront, that climate change is something that we address," he said. "It shouldn't be a political issue. It's a global issue."

The summit includes scientists, alternative energy experts and officials from as far away as Germany, the United Kingdom and Brazil.