DeSantis’s climate bill has nothing to do with Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton has left more than 2 million homes and businesses in Florida without power and is a mortal threat for those in its path. But for some, the hurricane also appears to a very large stick with which to beat Florida governor Ron DeSantis for scrapping the state’s climate change goals.

DeSantis’s detractors have to explain how a plan to achieve 100 percent green energy by 2050 will keep Florida’s residents safe from hurricanes

A bill, which DeSantis signed in May, removed climate change as a priority in state energy policy and cut the word “climate” from several pieces of state legislation. It banned offshore wind turbines and watered down obligations on state agencies to use products deemed to be green. It also set in motion the repealing of the target to ensure that 100 percent of the state’s energy comes from renewable sources by 2050.

DeSantis’s shake-up was, needless to say, a red rag to a bull for climate campaigners, who have been busily reminding everyone about the act over the past few days. One, Robert Reich, wrote on his Facebook page:

As Florida braces for Hurricane Milton, remember that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that erases most references to climate change from state law. Tapping into the culture wars isn’t going to protect Floridians from the harsh realities of climate change. These people deserve better. We all deserve better.

But is DeSantis the only one dipping into the culture wars? Climate change has long been used as a vehicle on which to transport various political ideologies, on the left as well as the right. 

True, there are some measures in DeSantis’s bill which seem calculated to irritate his political opponents. Yet the thrust of the legislation — which opponents don’t always like to admit — is to boost civil resilience. That is why it seeks to advance the exploitation of gas: to boost the reliability of the electricity grid. It also proposes that the use of nuclear technologies — including small modular reactors, which could be a more reliable source of energy than intermittent wind and solar — be explored. DeSantis has also poured money into bolstering sea defenses. 

Is there any need to ban offshore wind turbines? Perhaps not. There is nothing wrong with wind energy as part of the mix. Then again, if you have been going around warning of a future of mad hurricanes — as some of DeSantis’s opponents have been — would you really want a sizable proportion of Florida’s energy provided by tall, spindly turbines stuck out in the sea?

DeSantis’s detractors have to explain this: how is a plan to achieve 100 percent green energy in the state by 2050 going to keep Florida’s residents safe from hurricanes?

To portray DeSantis’s climate act as some kind of irresponsible wheeze, to try to advance a front in the culture wars rather ignores what it is trying to achieve — which is to refocus policy away from gestures and towards substantive action to cope with rising sea levels and bad weather. 

Hurricane Milton, it might just be added, is not an event which could be stopped even by the total and immediate end of carbon emissions, but something which has been part of the Florida climate for as long as anyone can remember. Not that you would guess that from all of this week’s coverage.

This article was originally published on The Spectator’s UK website.