Massive flooding in Florida is bringing new attention to the climate change denial of Gov. Ron DeSantis and his Republican allies in the state Legislature.
In May, DeSantis took steps to deprioritize climate change resilience, a truly reckless and cruel decision considering the existential crisis climate change poses to the state.
As The Associated Press reported:
Climate change will be a lesser priority in Florida and largely disappear from state statutes under legislation signed Wednesday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that also bans power-generating wind turbines offshore or near the state’s lengthy coastline. Critics said the measure made law by the former Republican presidential hopeful ignores the reality of climate change threats in Florida, including projections of rising seas, extreme heat and flooding, and increasingly severe storms.
Those critics — including Democrats, climate-conscious activist groups, and climate experts — were right that DeSantis’ support for such a policy defied logic and the abundant evidence of climate-related devastation in Florida. And they’re reminding him of this as much of the state suffers.
Florida Democrats used the current flooding in Florida to highlight DeSantis’ neglectful approach to climate resilience, and to highlight the fact that the governor on Wednesday signed a budget that vetoed more than $200 million in funding for projects related to stormwater, wastewater and sewer water.
“Flood warnings are in effect for more than 8 million Floridians and Ron just vetoed funding for stormwater projects to reserve money for a rainy day,” the Florida Democratic Party posted on social media. “Ron, it’s raining.”
Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones criticized DeSantis’ climate approach and said the impact of flooding and other climate disasters is felt most by vulnerable communities.
“Florida refuses to acknowledge ‘climate change,’ despite streets turning into rivers and @GovRonDeSantis vetoing crucial infrastructure projects in vulnerable communities,” he wrote.








