‘We can stop the climate crisis:’ Groups call on Florida to stop leaving federal money on the table

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - — In multiple cities throughout Florida on Tuesday, a coalition of progressive and environmental groups called for Republican lawmakers to accept more federal money to bolster resiliency.

The call comes after the one-two-punch from Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused billions of dollars worth of damage throughout Florida.

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State Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) joined with leaders from the Sierra Club and Florida for All at Memorial Park in front of the temporary plastic barriers that were set up after the storm surge once again knocked out the stone balustrades.

“We can’t stop climate disasters, but we can stop the climate crisis,” Nixon said.

Specifically, they want to see the state leverage more federal grant money to improve resiliency in the state.

Of the nearly $12.5 billion the groups estimate Florida has passed on from the federal government since the Rick Scott administration, four programs totaling $725 million directly deal with climate mitigation and green energy infrastructure.

Bill Snow is with the Sierra Club Florida’s Duval Chapter.

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“Other states that are leading on this issue, whereas here we just get resistance on this issue to the point we even can’t use the language climate change,” Snow said.

Republican leaders pushed back on the suggestion they’ve failed to address resiliency.

Figures provided by the governor’s office show state leaders budgeted more than $6.7 billion for resiliency efforts since 2019.

“We have the My Safe Florida Homes bill that provides real money, matching dollars for Florida families when they want to harden their home to get ready for a storm,” State Representative Dean Black (R-Yulee) said.

Black also questioned how some of the federal programs highlighted by the groups Tuesday would impact the state’s hurricane readiness.

“I mean you’re talking about making people work on the exhaust on their car. We’re meanwhile talking about helping you harden your home so you can withstand the storm,” Black said.

But Nixon argued at the end of the day, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis needs to stop passing on federal money she believes could help mitigate local issues like flooding and storm hardening.

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“These are things that we could have possibly gotten addressed and we didn’t because he failed to accept the money or he accepted a little too late,” Nixon said.

Action News Jax asked Nixon and Black whether they believe there is a need for state lawmakers to return for a special session on hurricane relief.

Both indicated they had not heard of any plans for a special session at this time.

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