On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed CS/CS/HB 1645, legislation to prioritize the state’s energy independence and resiliency ahead of unreasonable climate demands. Among the things the bill is intended to do are remove multiple instances of the term “climate change” from state statutes, and prohibit wind farms from operating offshore or near Florida coastlines.
The bill was passed in late April in Florida’s House of Representatives, and on May 4 in the Senate. It is slated to go into effect on July 1. Perhaps climate zealots will dub it the “Don’t say climate change” bill, as the bill would remove over 50 lines in state law referencing the term. MSNBC is already referring to the legislation as “ludicrous” and “bonkers.”
DeSantis announced the signing in a series of posts on X.
“Florida rejects the designs of the left to weaken our energy grid, pursue a radical climate agenda, and promote foreign adversaries,” DeSantis stated. “The legislation I signed today—HB 1645, HB 7071, and HB 1331—will keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and China out of our state.”
“We’re restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots,” the Florida governor stated. “Furthermore, we’re going to ensure foreign adversaries like China have no foothold in our state.”
The legislation is intended to do away with any offshore wind farms in the state, boost natural-gas growth, protect natural-gas appliances from any bans, and even look into development of small-scale nuclear technology to help power the state.
Further, the bill would end requirements that Florida legislators must consider climate change when making any new energy policy, and dispose of requirements that the state use only “climate friendly” products and vehicles. The new law also reverses a policy requiring government agencies to hold conferences and meetings at hotels certified as “green lodging” by the state’s environmental agency.
Predictably, climate zealots are incensed at the legislation.
“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 profits for the fossil fuel industry,” said Yoca Arditi-Rocha of the Florida-based Cleo Institute, a climate alarmist group.
Florida Democrats had harsh words for DeSantis, and blasted him for not listening to the alleged scientific consensus that climate change is both real and a crisis situation.
“I think it’s taking us absolutely in the wrong direction,” said House Democrat Lindsay Cross. “We can’t deny that climate change is happening. Whether you trust the 99% of scientists who do believe in climate change, we know that weather is getting worse, that we have more extreme weather patterns with a very active hurricane season predicted. Combined with the destruction that we’ve already had in this state, stripping the words ‘climate change’ out of statutes isn’t going to make it go away, it’s just going to make us less proactive and prepared.”
Others claimed DeSantis was simply caving to fossil fuel interests, and that signing the legislation would lead to higher insurance rates and even deaths in the state.
“Once again, Gov. DeSantis has failed us by signing HB 1645,” said Brooke Alexander-Goss of Florida’s Sierra Club. ““Allowing this bill to become law jeopardizes the health and safety of all Floridians, further proving that his top priority is to appease large corporations and fossil fuel companies. We will pay more at the pump and for our insurance premiums, and we will certainly see increases in climate-related disasters and deaths.”
In reality, the new legislation simply undoes some of the damage done to the state by former Governor Charlie Crist with his 2008 climate legislation. Crist, a Republican at the time, has since switched party affiliations and is now a Democrat. While states like Vermont and California are busy attempting to blame fossil fuel companies for the weather, Floridians are attempting to secure their energy future.
