In the United States, most Republican leaders are still openly climate skeptics. Latest example with the governor of Florida who has just signed a law that removes climate change from Florida politics. The law also ends programs intended to encourage renewable energy and conservation in a state highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
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No question of energy sobriety in Florida, says our correspondent in Miami, David Thomson. With this new law signed Wednesday May 15 by the governor Ron DeSantisthe state of Florida is no longer required to take climate change into account in its energy policy.
The ultraconservative governor and failed presidential candidate says it bluntly: “ We will prevent wind turbines from being installed on our beaches, keep gasoline in our tanks, and we reject the agenda of radical environmentalists “.
Its law, which comes into force on July 1, prohibits the construction of wind turbines and repeals subsidies that encourage energy savings and renewable energies. Public authorities are no longer required to purchase electric vehicles or use environmentally friendly products.
A shame “
However, Florida is one of the States most affected by climate change, between rising water levels and increasingly violent and frequent hurricanes. Moreover, residents are finding it increasingly difficult to pay for home insurance whose costs have become exorbitant. This climate-skeptical tendency of the governor of Florida is not new: last year, he refused $346 million from the Biden administration supposed to help residents make their homes more energy efficient.
Thursday, May 16, the White House and elected Democratic officials strongly criticized this new law in Florida. This legislation is a “ shame », Commented the spokesperson for the federal executive, Karine Jean-Pierre. “ Climate change is an indisputable fact », Reacted for her part Frederica Wilson, an elected Democrat who represents Florida in the House of Representatives of Congress.
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