Zero Specifics From DeSantis On GHGs Or Renewables As "Chief Resilience Officer" Dodges Interviews

Florida Republicans belatedly acknowledging climate change and its harm to the state are looking ‘greener’ than they have in decades, but critics say it takes more than an awakening to make up for long-term environmental neglect. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said in his State of the State address Tuesday that he is taking a “bold approach to protecting our natural resources.”

But he made no mention of converting the state to clean, renewable energy or reducing greenhouse gases which continue to accumulate in the atmosphere and accelerate climate changes in Florida and worldwide. On Monday, leaders of Sierra Club of Florida issued DeSantis a ‘D’ grade for his work on environmental protection and sustainability. They and others are calling for dramatic changes to make the future more liveable for young people inheriting a climate in peril.

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The governor significantly increased funding for the Florida Forever land-conservation program and Everglades restoration, created a task force with funding to tackle blue-green algae pollution, and created a Senate Committee on Infrastructure and Security – where Sen. Tom Lee, its chairman, became perhaps the first Republican in a decade to publicly discuss climate change in the Florida Capitol. Further, DeSantis created an executive position of Chief Resilience Officer last summer, and Lee’s committee is sponsoring 2020 legislation to create a Statewide Office of Resiliency.

The stated mission of the CRO and the resiliency office are to take stock of the threat of sea-level rise and to bolster Florida systems to resist it. How they may go about it, and who will pay for it, has not been explained. The Florida Phoenix attempted four times in the last three months to interview CRO Julia Nesheiwat but she did not agree to it. Nesheiwat has visited sites around the state, including hurricane-ravaged Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, but has made few public statements. Lee said Florida Republicans are at last addressing climate change because young Republicans, unlike their elders, believe the scientific evidence that it poses a real threat to their futures.

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https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2020/01/15/greener-gop-still-stalling-on-clean-energy-and-climate-change-in-fl/