Ron DeSantis has tried to tackle climate disasters, not carbon emissions
with research by Maxine Joselow Good morning and welcome to The Climate 202! This is Vanessa Montalbano , your Climate 202 researcher, taking over the top of the newsletter today. We hope you had a great weekend despite the heat. Send story ideas and tips for staying cool to vanessa.montalbano@washpost.com . Not a subscriber? Sign up for The Climate 202 to get scoops and sharp analysis in your inbox each morning. In todays edition, well break down how the Wests climate-fueled water crisis is disrupting the economy. But first: Climate change isnt a key issue for Republicans running for president , but its something Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been forced to grapple with as his constituents more than many other Americans face the harsh effects of intensifying hurricanes and rising seas. While members of his party sometimes struggle to discuss climate change, its undeniable in a state like Florida, where toxic algae blooms fueled by warming ocean temperatures are spoiling beaches and harming cherished wildlife. DeSantis has responded by taking steps to protect the Sunshine State from extreme weather events, even as he has declined to address the root cause of these disasters: carbon emissions. Some of these steps include: This year, DeSantis also signed a bill passed by Floridas Republican-led legislature designating more than $624 million to restore the Everglades, home to abundant plant and animal life but harmed by urban development and industrial agriculture. Eric Eikenberg , chief executive of the Everglades Foundation , told Politico that DeSantis is a true champion on the environment and said that dollars matter when it comes to infrastructure, including Everglades restoration. Yet DeSantis has done far less when it comes to the underlying problem of carbon emissions that are warming the Earth, a problem that has led other political leaders to invest in renewable energy or account for environmental risk in new buildings and roads. Sierra Club Florida , which gave DeSantis a D-minus on the environment last year, said that although he has focused on resilience projects, he has not done enough to implement long-term solutions that address the causes of climate change. Rather than prioritizing the wellbeing of our people and environment, the Governor and his administration have focused on culture war signaling and spending taxpayer dollars on political stunts that harm real people, Sierra Club Florida Director Emily Gorman said in a statement. And many climate advocates have criticized DeSantis for not acknowledging more explicitly that human activity is driving climate change and its severe effects, despite scientific consensus that this is the case. The science is clear, the debate is over, and leaders across the globe are taking action, Aliki Moncrief , executive director of Florida Conservation Voters , told The Climate 202. Except for Governor DeSantis, who continues to deny the science and worse, to deny Floridians the opportunity to build a sustainable and equitable clean energy future. Christopher Barnard , vice president of external affairs for the American Conservation Coalition , a conservative climate advocacy group, pushed back on these criticisms of DeSantis's climate record. DeSantis spending a lot more time on resilience and restoration and coral reefs and invasive species makes a lot of sense because those are issues that are imminent and really threatening Florida, he said. The unique thing that DeSantis has to point to is a track record of actually delivering on the environmental issues that matter to people, Barnard said, without necessarily having to always lean into the climate angle. Climate change is a fraught issue among Republican voters and politicians, who increasingly recognize that warming is affecting their daily lives yet also resist many efforts by liberals to counter it. Here's how DeSantiss opponents for the GOP presidential nomination stack up on the subject: DeSantiss campaign did not respond to a request for comment about his environmental views. Arizonas decision to limit housing construction around Phoenix is yet another example of how climate change is disrupting economies and lifestyles across the American West, The Washington Posts Joshua Partlow , Brady Dennis and Isaac Stanley-Becker report. Arizona officials said Thursday the state lacks enough groundwater for the housing construction that has already been approved around fast-growing Phoenix. As a result, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) announced a pause on new subdivisions in the Phoenix suburbs that do not already have proven water supplies. The decision comes after massive wildfires in California prompted State Farm , the states largest insurer, to stop issuing new policies there . And in Utah, officials worry the Great Salt Lake could disappear within five years, along with thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity. Whether through wildfires or water shortages, climate change is forcing tough decisions in cities and counties across the American West. Many areas have had to decide whether to use dwindling water supplies for agriculture or other purposes amid the worst drought in a millennium. Its always a tricky balance, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said in a recent interview. How do we grapple with the reality of decreasing water supply but not adversely impact the economy? Negotiators from nearly 200 countries agreed Friday to craft a draft treaty aimed at ending global plastic pollution, Angela Charlton and Jennifer McDermott report for the Associated Press. The diplomats, who gathered in Paris for five days of United Nations -backed talks, agreed to produce the initial draft before their next meeting in Kenya in November. While environmentalists cautiously welcomed this outcome, they expressed concern that some countries and fossil fuel companies could try to weaken the document. More than 99 percent of plastic is made with chemicals sourced from fossil fuels. Countries with big petroleum industries, including the United States, had sought to let countries come up with their own pledges for reducing plastic pollution, rather than setting across-the-board limits. Monday: The House Rules Committee will hold a hearing on several bills, including the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act and the Save Our Gas Stoves Act , which would limit the power of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and other agencies to regulate gas stoves . Tuesday: The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a hearing on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration s proposed changes to a rule meant to prevent lethal collisions between vessels and endangered North Atlantic right whales. Wednesday: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will meet to examine the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ' ecosystem restoration projects. Thursday: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will assess the federal governments response to wildfires, including by evaluating reforms to land management and wildland firefighter recruitment and retention. Thanks for reading!