DeSantis Makes ‘Climate Change Isn’t Real’ Official Florida Law

The most recent bill is a rewrite of the state’s existing energy policy, but DeSantis decided to remove any mention of climate change, ban windmill farms, and even increase fossil fuel usage. Essentially, Gov. DeSantis has announced in no uncertain terms that he believes climate change isn’t real.

The Republican governor posted on his X (formerly Twitter) profile, “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. Furthermore, we’re going to ensure foreign adversaries like China have no foothold in our state.”

They have good reason to be concerned. Because of its geographic location and topography, Florida has experienced more effects of climate change than almost anywhere else in the country. From rising sea levels to bleached coral reefs, as well as extreme weather, including heat waves, hurricanes, and tropical storms, Florida residents want to see tangible changes as soon as possible.

At the time, the fate of the planet seemed less immediate a problem than COVID-19, so Floridians weren’t asking candidates how they planned to take on climate change. If they had, they may have found out sooner that, in DeSantis’ own words, he’s “not a climate change person.”

After signing the extremely controversial bill, which all but reverses Florida’s efforts to transition to sustainable energy, DeSantis told the press, “Everything is about economic growth. It’s not about climate change. It’s not about renewable energy.” He also explained that his focus is on “energy dominance” over “climate change.”

The governor also ensured the new legislation would almost completely nullify the old one. From now on, Florida will not be focused on funding or building green energy sources, and it certainly isn’t working toward 100% sustainable energy by 2050.

But DeSantis made sure to include a clause that strictly outlawed offshore wind farms in the Sunshine State. Several experts have since noted that because of the strong winds and currents off Florida’s long coasts, wind farms are impractical anyway, but making them illegal was certainly a statement by the governor.

Natural gas is Florida’s primary energy source, though the majority of it is imported from other states. However, DeSantis plans to change that by enhancing the existing natural gas facilities, which emit excessive amounts of toxic greenhouse gases. He even plans to spend a small fortune to protect Florida’s natural gas facilities from apparent cyber and physical threats.

In 2022, DeSantis made it illegal for students or teachers to discuss sexual orientation or gender in schools, and the LGBTQ+ community and their supporters were disgusted by the governor’s lack of care and understanding.

Gov. DeSantis has two more years in office, but many influential environmentalists and LGBTQ+ activists are already calling on Floridians to be extremely careful in the next election. They argue that voting for another climate change denier could have catastrophic consequences for the state.

That means that Florida will continue to struggle with extreme weather, including fatal heat waves and hurricanes, and Governor DeSantis and his bill refusing the reality of climate change are only exacerbating an already precarious situation.

After cutting his presidential campaign short for 2024, there is already talk that DeSantis is preparing to run again in 2028. But if this is how he plans to handle the climate crisis, many are worried that DeSantis would not be the right choice for America, let alone the world.