DeSantis signs bill that makes climate change a lower priority

(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — Climate change will be a lower priority in Florida and will largely disappear from state statutes under legislation signed Wednesday by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, which also prohibits wind turbines generating power at sea or near the state’s extensive coastline.

Critics said the measure approved by the former Republican presidential candidate ignores the reality of climate change threats in Florida, including projected sea level rise, extreme heat and flooding, and increasingly severe storms.

It takes effect July 1 and would also boost natural gas expansion, reduce regulations on natural gas pipelines in the state and increase protections against bans on gas appliances such as stoves, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

DeSantis, who suspended his presidential campaign in January and later endorsed his bitter rival donald trumpcalled the bill a common-sense approach to energy policy.

“We are restoring sanity to our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of radical green fanatics,” DeSantis said in a post on the X social media platform.

Florida already relies about 74% on natural gas to generate electricity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Opponents of the bill signed by DeSantis say it removes the word “climate” in nine different places, moves the state’s energy goals away from efficiency and reducing greenhouse gases blamed for warming the planet.

“This purposeful act of cognitive dissonance is proof that the governor and state Legislature are not acting in the best interests of Floridians, but rather to protect the profits of the fossil fuel industry,” said Yoca Arditi-Rocha, executive director from the non-profit organization Cleo Institute. , which advocates education and involvement in climate change.

The legislation also eliminates the requirement that government agencies hold conferences and meetings in hotels certified by the state environmental agency as “green lodging” and that government agencies make fuel efficiency a top priority when purchasing new vehicles. It also ends the requirement that Florida state agencies review a list of “climate-friendly” products before making purchases.

In 2008, a bill to address climate change and promote renewable energy passed unanimously in both legislative chambers and was signed into law by the then-governor. Charlie Crist, then a Republican. Former Gov. Rick Scott, now a Republican U.S. senator, took steps after taking office as governor in 2011 to undo some of those measures and this latest bill goes even further.

The measure signed by DeSantis would also launch a study of small nuclear reactor technology, expand the use of hydrogen-powered vehicles and increase the security of the electrical grid, according to the governor’s office.