LOS ANGELES, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on Saturday called for efforts to deal with the climate change issue.

    She made the call while joining Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and thousands of volunteers in the "Keep America Beautiful" campaign.

    "Our government has to get ahead of the climate change issue and the clean energy issue," Clinton said.

    "We've got to start leading and we need people in Washington who understand that," she said.

    Clinton and Villaraigosa led more than 2,000 people in a cleanup around the Civic Center area downtown, one of 10 local sites for Keep America Beautiful's national 2007 Great American Cleanup.

    Hundreds more volunteers fanned out across the city, planting trees and flowers, picking up litter and removing graffiti.

    The goal of the annual cleanup is to beautify parks and recreation areas.

    "I know that if we all work together we will have a cleaner and greener and more beautiful environment," Clinton told the volunteers at City Hall in her first public appearance in Los Angeles since entering the presidential race.

    "It's not just government that needs to lead," she said. "All of us have to make decisions about how we clean up our environment and how we begin to plan for a different energy future."

    Villaraigosa said Clinton would be a fine choice for president but did not formally endorse her.

    "Sen. Hillary Clinton without question is a woman of tremendous leadership, a great leader for our party and our nation," he told reporters.