New survey shows 68% of Floridians want state to do more on climate change
Dangerous heat levels are becoming routine in Florida as state leaders look the other way and do little to combat global warming. (Getty Images)
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A survey of more than 1,400 Floridians shows that 68% want the state government to do more to combat climate change and 69% want the federal government to do more to address the issue. However, less than half of all respondents (48%) said they would be willing to pay $10 a month to support strengthening the state’s infrastructure to contend with inclement weather.
Those are among some of the results included in the latest Florida Climate Resilience Survey, conducted by the Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Environmental Studies within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.
The percentage of Floridians who believe that human activity is the cause of climate change is at 58% — that’s down from a similar survey from a year ago (when it was at 65%). Only 40% of Republicans say human activity is the cause of climate change — that’s down 5% from a survey taken last fall. The survey shows that 74% of Democrats believe that climate change is largely caused by humans.
“Floridians support strengthening our resilience to the effects of climate change because they are experiencing it. The urgency to act means debate over causes is largely irrelevant,” Colin Polsky, Ph.D. founding director of FAU’s School of Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sustainability (ECOS), said in a news release. He is a professor in geosciences, and director of the FAU Center for Environmental Studies (CES) within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.
Among the 58% who believe that human activity is the main driver of the planet warming, the non-party-affiliated voters increased the most since FAU conducted its previous survey on climate change last fall — going from 53% to 64% overall. Among registered Republican voters, the belief in human activity as the main driver for climate change actually decreased in that time period, going from 45% last fall to 40% currently.
There is also a pronounced discrepancy when it comes to age: 66% of those under the age of 50 believe that human activity is the cause of climate change; only 50% of those over the age of 50 feel that way.
The survey also shows that support for solar power as the primary form of energy production — an effort that the state should be supporting in the future — has decreased. Now 51% support that statement, a decrease of 4% from last fall, and a decrease from a peak support of 62% in September 2022. Support from Florida Republicans specifically dropped 9% from last fall.
The Florida Legislature not only bypassed proposals to address climate change during the most recent legislative session, but lawmakers also passed a measure (HB 1645) that would strip the term “climate change” from much of state law. The bill also deletes a requirement that the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services establish goals and strategies for increasing the use of renewable energy in the state.
The legislation would also ban offshore wind facilities within a mile of state coastlines, though none currently exist.
The measure passed mostly along party lines in the GOP-controlled Legislature and was sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk for his consideration on April 30, meaning he needs to address the bill this week, or it will become law without his signature.
The survey consisted of 1,400 Floridians who are ages 18 and older, with a survey margin of error of +/- 2.53 percentage points that was conducted between March 18-21 of this year.
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