Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed Wednesday that he was saving his state from ‘radical green zealots’ by removing references of ‘climate change’ from the state’s energy policy and banning offshore windmills.
DeSantis signed into law a bill that additionally gives preferential treatment to natural gas companies and scraps a requirement that state-purchased vehicles are fuel efficient.
‘The legislation I signed today… will keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and China out of our state,’ DeSantis wrote on X. ‘We’re restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots.’
The White House and other Democrats pounced at DeSantis’ action.
‘That’s pretty shameful,’ White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Thursday’s press briefing.
‘And the president, as you know, has been the most progressive, has done more on climate change than any other president. And so we are committed, committed to dealing with this crisis and meeting our goals,’ Jean-Pierre continued.
She added that it was ‘unfortunate that there are climate deniers still out there.’
Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell – who’s running for U.S. Senate in Florida – posted to X: ‘We’re on the FRONT LINES of climate change.’
‘It drives the destruction of our coastal communities and economy, and fuels the insurance crisis,’ she said. ‘DeSantis is finishing what [Sen. Rick] Scott started when he was governor, and making sure our state doesn’t stand a chance.’
Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson, who represents part of Miami, said ‘climate change is an indisputable fact, not a topic open for debate.’
‘The dire consequences of the climate crisis are evident every day in Florida, and attempts to undermine efforts to combat this existential threat are utterly reckless and irresponsible.’
Robert Reich, Bill Clinton’s labor secretary, posted to X about how costly climate change has already been to the Sunshine State.
‘Since 1980, there have been 87 weather/climate disaster events in Florida with losses exceeding $1 billion each,’ Reich said. ‘Tapping into the culture wars isn’t going to protect Floridians from the harsh realities of climage change.’
DeSantis and other Republicans have been antagonistic to President Joe Biden’s green agenda, with former President Donald Trump promising to roll back some of the Democrat’s climate provisions should he be elected to a second term in the fall.
The Florida governor dropped his own presidential bid in late January, after coming in a far-off second place after Trump in the Iowa caucuses.
DeSantis endorsed Trump on his way out the door and has said recently he’ll start to raise money for the presumptive Republican nominee.
