Florida moves to remove climate change mentions from its laws

Florida is set to largely eliminate climate change references from state legislation, despite facing significant environmental challenges.

Kate Yoder reports for Grist.

In short:

• A proposed bill in Florida aims to remove the majority of climate change mentions from state laws, amid efforts to address sea level rise and hurricane threats.
• The bill includes measures like banning offshore wind energy and relaxing natural gas pipeline regulations, signaling a reluctance to confront the root causes of climate-related impacts.
• Critics argue the bill sends a message that climate change is not a state priority, potentially stifling green industry development and ignoring public concern over climate impacts.

Key quote:

"Florida is on the front lines of the warming climate crisis, and the fact that we’re going to erase that sends the wrong message."

— Yoca Arditi-Rocha, executive director of the CLEO Institute

Why this matters:

This move may influence how climate issues are addressed, prioritized and funded, possibly leading to a reduced focus on climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. If enacted, it could also set a precedent for other states, affecting national climate policy discourse and action, with implications for environmental regulation, energy policy and public awareness of climate issues.

From vaccines to elections to climate change, denial is doing lasting damage to the country.