Together with Hurricane Helene, these storms have taken about 250 lives and destroyed thousands of homes. The state is in turmoil, with forecasters warning of more severe weather ahead.
This situation should prompt Florida’s political leaders to act urgently to protect their state.
Surprisingly, this has not occurred.
Governor Ron DeSantis has consistently dismissed the threat of global warming, even signing a law that eliminates the term “climate change” from state statutes, essentially committing Florida to fossil fuel dependence.
This response is alarming.
DeSantis shares the same climate denial views as Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate. If Trump wins the upcoming election, the environmental challenges facing Florida may spread nationwide.
Trump has promised to roll back President Biden’s environmental policies and boost fossil fuel production, which would increase carbon emissions and undermine global efforts to combat climate change.
Rising fossil fuel emissions have led to increased ocean temperatures and sea levels, resulting in some of the most destructive storms ever seen in Florida.The consequences of these actions could be dire. Global temperatures are close to surpassing the 1.5°C threshold set by the 2015 Paris Agreement, with a rise of 2°C now seeming unavoidable.
Jim Skea, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has warned that if current policies remain unchanged, the world could face a 3°C rise by 2100, leading to catastrophic impacts such as ice sheet melting and significant sea-level rise.
Despite awareness of these risks for decades, insufficient measures have been taken to mitigate them.
The upcoming Cop29 climate conference in Baku should inspire global action, but discussions may focus more on financial assistance for poorer nations than on eliminating fossil fuel dependency.
With emissions set to persist, carbon capture and storage (CCS) has emerged as a crucial solution.
Recent UK investments in CCS could remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide, but questions remain about funding emissions cleanup for profit-driven fossil fuel companies.
Ultimately, if we cannot halt carbon emissions effectively, developing strategies to remove existing carbon from the atmosphere will be essential in combating the greatest threat to civilization today.