As a hurricane intensified by hot ocean water now threatens to destroy the Tampa Bay region, Florida Republicans bankrolled by the fossil fuel industry are pushing legislation that would bar the president from declaring a climate emergency.
Reps. Greg Steube and Byron Donalds, both Republicans who have together received more than $175,000 from oil and gas interests over their relatively short careers, cosponsored the House version of the bill last year, which frames the climate crisis as a “false emergency.” Steube represents Sarasota and Charlotte Counties, both south of Tampa, and Donalds represents much of Florida’s Lee County — all areas under evacuation orders as of Tuesday.
Neither Steube nor Donalds returned the Lever’s requests for comment on Tuesday.
Both lawmakers cosponsored the legislation alongside seventeen other Republicans, including several that represent the Gulf Coast region threatened by climate-intensified hurricanes: Reps. Randy Weber (R-TX), Brian Babin (R-TX), and Clay Higgins (R-LA). So far this election cycle, these three representatives have received more than $190,000 from the oil and gas industry. Mississippi senator Roger Wicker (R) — who has received more than $1.2 million from oil and gas interests since 1993 — is cosponsoring the Senate version of the bill.
The bill’s backers claim that declaring a climate emergency — which could enable the government to end offshore drilling, accelerate clean energy production, and take other bold action — would weaken national security and jeopardize valuable fossil fuel interests.
“President Biden and his radical administration are working around the clock to destroy American-made reliable energy sources,” said Rep. August Pfluger…
La suite est à lire sur: jacobin.com
Auteur: Katya Schwenk
