Climate change will be a lower priority in Florida and will virtually disappear from state statutes under the initiative signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, which also prohibits the presence of wind turbines generating power offshore or near the extensive state coast.
Critics said the measure ignores the reality of climate change threats to Florida, including projections of sea level rise, extreme heat and flooding, and increasingly severe storms.
The initiative would take effect July 1 and would also boost the expansion of natural gas use, reduce regulation of gas pipelines in the state and increase protections against measures that prohibit the use of gas appliances such as stoves, according to a press release from the governor's office.
DeSantis, who suspended the presidential campaign in January and later expressed support for his bitter rival Donald Trump, called the bill a common-sense approach to energy policy.
“We are restoring sanity to our energy approach and rejecting the agenda of radical green zealots,” DeSantis said in a post on the social network X.
Florida already depends 74% on natural gas for electricity generation, according to the United States Energy Information Administration. Critics of the bill say it eliminates the word “climate” in nine different places and moves away from the state's energy goals, efficiency and the reduction of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
“This deliberate act of cognitive dissonance is proof that the governor and the state Legislature are not acting in the best interests of Floridians, but rather protecting the revenues of the fossil fuel industry,” said Yoca Arditi. Rocha, executive director of the Cleo Institute, a nonprofit organization that advocates for education and engagement on climate change.
The initiative also eliminates the requirement that government agencies hold conferences and meetings in hotels certified as “green lodgings” by the state environmental agency, and that government agencies prioritize energy efficiency when purchasing new vehicles. It also ends the requirement that Florida state agencies consult 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 then-Republican Governor Charlie Crist. In 2011, then-governor and current Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott moved to reverse part of that measure, and this latest bill takes it even further.
The measure DeSantis signed would also launch a study on small nuclear reactor technology, expand the use of hydrogen-powered vehicles and bolster power grid security, according to the governor's office.