Climate change could virtually disappear in Florida — at least according to state law

TALAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida, perhaps the state most vulnerable to sea level rise and extreme weather, is poised to repeal what remains of a 16-year-old law that names climate change as a priority when making energy policy decisions. Instead, the state would make energy affordability and availability its main focus.

A bill awaiting signature from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis would remove the term “climate change” from much of state law and reverse a policy of then-Gov. Charlie Crist was a supporter as he built a reputation as a rare Republican who fought to promote green energy instead of fossil fuels.

While Florida is distinguished by its vast coastline and its flatness (Miami’s average elevation is about 7 feet above sea level), the chairman of the House Infrastructure Strategies Committee said the country also has unique challenges and the language of climate change in the law makes it harder to meet them.

“We protect consumers, we protect consumer prices, we protect them with great reliability and we protect to ensure that we don’t have a lack of energy security in our state. That’s where we’re going with our policies,” said Republican Rep. Bobby Payne.

But critics say now is not the time to back down on climate change policy, including Crist, who is now a Democrat and most recently served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“It is disappointing to see continued movement in the wrong direction, especially since Florida, with our coastline, is probably the most vulnerable to rising sea levels. I mean, if we don’t address it, who is going to?” Cris said. “It breaks my heart.”

In 2008, the bill to tackle climate change and promote renewable energy passed unanimously in both legislative chambers. Crist signed the bill to great fanfare at an international climate change conference he hosted with guests including then-Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But Payne said the Crist-era law makes it harder for the state to be more flexible in meeting its energy needs.

“When he invited Arnold Schwarzenegger to Miami for the environmental summit, it was a good indication that his ideologies clash with those of the public from a reliability and cost perspective,” Payne said.

After Crist left office in 2011, Gov. Rick Scott, now a U.S. senator, overturned much of what Crist enacted. This year’s bill repeals what’s left of it. The bill passed the legislature with Republican support and Democratic opposition. It still has not reached DeSantis, whose office did not respond to multiple emails seeking his position on the matter.

Payne, who spent nearly four decades in the energy sector before retiring, says he is not convinced that humanity’s energy use is destroying the planet. He also notes that three-quarters of the state’s energy is supplied by natural gas, making it vulnerable to market fluctuations.

The massive energy legislation he guided through the Legislature bars local governments from imposing certain energy policy restrictions and emphasizes clean energy through wind energy turbines or facilities located outside or within two kilometers of the coast to ban.

It eliminates requirements that government agencies hold conferences and meetings at hotels certified as “green lodging” by the state environmental agency and that government agencies make fuel efficiency a top priority when purchasing new vehicles.

Brooke Alexander-Gross of the Florida chapter of the Sierra Club said removing climate change from state law won’t make the problem go away, but she isn’t optimistic DeSantis will veto the bill.

“Having that language really encourages a lot of people to look at what climate change actually is, and it’s disappointing to see a governor in a state like ours take away that language, which is really just a way that he and his government can ignore. everything that’s going on, she said.