A new state law limits Florida communities’ goals to offset greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the global climate and intensifying disasters like hurricanes.
Specifically, HB 1217 prohibits local governments from pursuing net-zero emissions goals. At least 10 cities and counties have implemented such policies, including Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando and Leon County, where Tallahassee, the state capital, is located. But the new law won’t necessarily change these policies, said Bradley Marshall, senior attorney at Earthjustice, an advocacy group.
“It’s certainly intended to scare municipalities and local governments from trying to do things to promote net zero policies,” he said. “Now, its exact impact and what exactly it prohibits will probably be up for debate. Adjacent things – emissions reductions and even climate change reduction policies – at first glance will not conflict at all with the ban on adopting a net zero policy.”
The measure requires local governments to submit an affidavit annually to the state Department of Revenue verifying compliance. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed the measure on April 22, Earth Day, and the law will take effect on July 1. It states that “net zero policies, carbon taxes and assessments, and emissions trading programs are detrimental to the energy security and economic interests of this state and inconsistent with the energy and environmental policy of this state.”
“I proudly sponsored HB 1217 to fight for jobs and affordability in Florida,” according to a statement provided by the office of Rep. Berny Jacques (R-Clearwater). “This bill protects our residents and businesses from additional costs by removing Green New Deal policies from our state. Carbon taxes and fees are not welcome in the Free State of Florida.”
DeSantis implemented a law in 2024 delete several instances of the words “climate change” of the state code and restructure the state’s fossil fuel-based energy policy around reducing dependence on foreign sources and strengthening energy infrastructure against “natural and man-made threats.” The measure also nullified goals aimed at improving the use of renewable energy. The goals began in 2022 after 200 Floridians, all under 25 years oldfiled a rulemaking petition calling on the state to move toward 100 percent clean energy by 2050, a benchmark scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
“This bill is definitely part of a broader coordinated push by the fossil fuel industry’s political enablers to obstruct any tools (legal or legislative) to hold the industry accountable for its contributions to climate change,” said Laura Peterson, senior analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group. “Florida is really on the front lines. So I imagine the governor is taking this step because he sees what’s coming. It’s not getting better. So I can only assume that this is an effort to satisfy some of the pressure he’s getting from donors and his party to protect the industry. And he’s doing it at the expense of his constituents.”
There is overwhelming scientific consensus that fossil fuel emissions have accelerated global warming since the industrial era, causing more extreme disasters such as hurricanes. One study concluded that it is now scientifically feasible to link individual issuers to specific damages, for the sake of litigation.
HB 1217 also prevents local governments from purchasing items such as vehicles or appliances based on the fuels they use or the production of the items. Local governments cannot participate in carbon trading programs or use public funds to support other organizations with net zero policies. Cities and counties also cannot collect taxes or fees tied to carbon emissions.
When the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) announced its commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 in 2020, the municipal utility and the city were recognized as leaders in a state where most local governments at the time were more focused on climate impacts such as sea level rise and flooding. The commitment launched one of the biggest evolutions at the utility in its nearly century of history. utility leaders said at the time. OUC is the second largest municipal utility in the state, serving more than 288,000 customers in Orange and Osceola counties.
“We are aware of legislation regarding net-zero emissions policies,” reads a statement OUC provided to Inside Climate News. “Our focus remains on providing reliable, affordable energy while continuing to reduce our carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in a responsible and balanced manner. Since 2020, we have made significant progress in reducing CO2 emissions and remain committed to further reductions, including a 50 percent reduction by 2030 and 75 percent by 2040.”
Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, Broward and Miami-Dade counties have also been pursuing net-zero emissions goals by 2050. Miami, Miramar, Pinellas County and Sarasota have similar goals.
But in Leon County, leaders have taken several steps back in response to HB 1217. They rescinded a 2023 resolution declaring a climate emergency. They also backtracked on plans to phase out fossil fuel-powered vehicles and changed a policy to remove a requirement to use recycled paper. The Paul Russell Road facility, which the county considers the first modernized government building in the country to achieve net zero certification, will lose that certification, although the building’s solar and energy efficiency systems will continue to operate unchanged.
Susan Glickman, vice president of policy and partnerships at the CLEO Institute, an advocacy group, worried that the law could have a chilling effect on other local policies aimed at moving Florida toward cleaner energy.
“It means everyone is going to pay more money on their energy bills, and there are a lot of people who can absorb a higher energy bill,” he said. “But there are a lot of people who can’t, and this is at a time when housing, grocery and insurance prices are high. And that’s why there are people who are suffering.”
This story originally appeared on Insider climate news.
Amy Green covers the environment and climate change from Orlando, Florida. She is a mid-career journalist and author whose extensive reporting on the Everglades appears in the book MOVING WATER, published by Johns Hopkins University Press, and on the podcast DRAINED, available wherever you get your podcasts. Amy’s work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award and the Association of Public Media Journalists Award.
