SUMMARYFlorida enacted HB 1217, a state law that bars local governments from pursuing net-zero emissions goals. The measure affects cities and counties including Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, and Leon County, where Tallahassee is located, and follows a push by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Legal experts say the law’s scope may be disputed and may not automatically invalidate existing climate policies.
A new state law limits Florida communities’ aims to offset greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the global climate and intensifying disasters such as 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 will not necessarily upend these policies, said Bradley Marshall, senior attorney at Earthjustice, an advocacy group.
“It’s certainly meant to scare municipalities and local governments from trying to do things to further net-zero policies,” he said. “Now, its exact impact and what it exactly prohibits is probably up for some debate. Things that are adjacent to it—emissions reductions and even climate change reduction policies—on their face will not run afoul at all of a ban on adopting a net zero policy.”