The legislation, which was signed Wednesday by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and comes into effect in July, also bans power-generating wind turbines offshore or near the coast while reducing regulation on gas pipelines.
"The legislation I signed today... will keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and China out of our state," said DeSantis, who suspended his presidential campaign in January and endorsed Donald Trump for the White House.
"We're restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots."
Critics said the move ignores the threat of climate change in Florida, which is second only to Hawaii for yearly average temperatures.
The so-called "Sunshine State" experienced a record-breaking heat wave last summer as temperatures in its southern waters briefly topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8C).
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described the move as "pretty shameful" and warned that there was "a lot more work that we need to do" to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.
"Climate change is an indisputable fact, not a topic open for debate," Frederica Wilson, a member of the Florida delegation in the US Congress, added on social media platform X.
"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."
Of the state's 19.6 million people, 15 million live in coastal areas, the US government's Office for Coastal Management says.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) assessed the 2023 heat wave's impact at multiple locations along its 255-mile (410 kilometer) barrier reef -- home to sea turtles, stingrays, sharks, dolphins and many species of fish.
They found less than 22 percent of approximately 1,500 staghorn coral -- a species that is listed as a candidate for endangered species protection -- remained alive.
Robert Reich, Bill Clinton's labor secretary from 1993 to 1997, said Florida was facing yet another a record heat wave this week.
"Since 1980, there have been 87 weather/climate disaster events in Florida with losses exceeding $1 billion each," he posted on X.
"Tapping into the culture wars isn't going to protect Floridians from the harsh realities of climate change."
Gov. Ron DeSantis signs law erasing climate change from Florida policy
Washington DC (UPI) May 16, 2024 -
With summer's extreme heat and this year's hurricane season rolling into Florida next month, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Wednesday that will erase climate change from state policy effective July 1.
The new law will erase the words "climate change" from state statutes and make energy a top priority to ensure "an adequate, reliable and cost-effective supply of energy for the state in a manner that promotes the health and welfare of the public and economic growth," according to the legislative analysis.
"The legislation I signed today -- H.B. 1645, H.B. 7071 and H.B. 1331 -- will keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks and China out of our state," DeSantis wrote Wednesday in a post on X.
"We're restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots."
"Florida rejects the designs of the left to weaken our energy grid, pursue a radical climate agenda and promote foreign adversaries," DeSantis said in a separate post.
H.B. 1645 will ban wind farms offshore and near coastlines and prioritize the expansion of natural gas. It will require electric co-ops and cities to have hurricane restoration plans in order to receive state funding. It will protect against gas appliance bans and it repeals Obama-era climate policies.
H.B. 7071 will safeguard against foreign influence in Florida and bans the State Board of Administration from investing state funds in "CCP-linked Chinese companies."
CCP stands for the Communist Party of China.
"Global elites want to reduce the standing and influence of America and the West," DeSantis claimed.
H.B. 1331 protects against forced labor by banning companies on the state's forced labor vendor list from getting a state contract, and fining those that cannot certify their products were produced by wage labor.
Democrats and environmentalists Wednesday were quick to criticize Florida's new law.
"Floridians are on the frontlines of rising sea levels, rising extreme heat, rising property insurance prices, more frequent floods and more severe storms," said Yoca Arditi-Rocha, the CLEO Institute's executive director.
"This purposeful act of cognitive dissonance is proof that the governor and the state legislature are not acting in the best interests of Floridians, but rather to protect profits for the fossil fuel industry."
"I think it's taking us absolutely in the wrong direction," said Pinellas House Democratic Rep. Lindsay Cross. "We can't deny that climate change is happening."
"Whether you trust the 99% of scientists who do believe in climate change, we know that weather is getting worse, that we have more extreme weather patterns with a very active hurricane season predicted," Cross added.
"Combined with the destruction that we've already had in this state, stripping the words 'climate change' out of statutes isn't going to make it go away. It's just going to make us less proactive and prepared."
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