Washington, D.C. – As Hurricane Idalia, an extremely dangerous storm intensified by climate change, hits Florida, Politico reports on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to reject approximately $350 million in federal funds that would directly benefit Florida consumers by providing instant point-of-sale rebates and other incentives to help weatherize their homes and buy energy efficient appliances and cooling systems. These consumer incentives, which are adminitered at the state level, are part of President Biden’s landmark clean energy plan, passed just over a year ago.
by Eden Alem, ClimatePower.com
DeSantis is the only governor in the nation to reject these funds to help consumers lower their energy costs and reduce their use of fossil fuels at home.
“Even in the midst of yet another season of extreme weather and climate disasters like Hurricane Idalia, Ron DeSantis continues to put politics over people,” said Climate Power Deputy Executive Director Claire Moser. “The funds DeSantis rejected would provide more than $10,000 in rebates to Florida families that could help weatherize their homes and lower their energy costs. Between climate disasters, a collapsing property insurance market, and his misguided decision to block these funds, Floridians are literally paying the price for DeSantis’ climate denial in an attempt to cater to the hardcore MAGA base.”
While ocean temperatures off Florida hit an unprecedented 100+ degrees earlier this summer and still remain around 90 degrees in the Gulf of Mexico, DeSantis has focused on his faltering presidential campaign, leaving his constituents to deal with energy costs, a collapsing insurance market, and the impacts of climate change on their own. Major insurance companies are pulling out of Florida because of the mounting toll of climate disasters and other extreme weather events. Since 2019, when DeSantis became Governor, Florida has been impacted by 20 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, costing between $100 and $200 billion in total. Even so, DeSantis’ loyalty is to his oil and gas executive campaign funders.
In July, DeSantis unveiled his hurricane preparedness plan amid predictions of an active Atlantic hurricane season: “knocking on wood that we won’t have a big storm this summer.”
