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Jeb Bush Draft Paper Sets Stage For Carbon Battles In Key State

December 18, 2006

Outgoing Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s (R) administration is recommending in a draft “white paper” that the state begin implementing carbon constraints in the near future, setting the stage for major policy battles over climate change emissions in a key regional and presidential-election battleground state.

Observers say action by Florida to address carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could eventually help advance the issue throughout the country because of the state’s profile in national politics, its large congressional delegation, and its growing Republican majority. It is becoming even more of a “red” state, which would “buck the traditional wisdom” that red states spurn climate change issues, and may make it easier for other red states to follow suit, says a clean-energy advocate operating in the region.

The 42-page “Whitepaper on Climate Change Science and Policy Options” recommends the state adopt a carbon pricing program for electricity generation if the federal government has not taken substantial regulatory action in the next three to five years.

Carbon Pricing
Florida officials should consider requiring some type of “carbon pricing” on electricity generation, such as a carbon cap or carbon tax, three to five years from now “to mitigate against an open-ended federal response,” the paper states. However, caps or taxes should not be pursued at this time, the white paper recommends, because the costs are likely to decrease the state’s “competitive position versus its neighbors.”

The white paper also recommends the Florida legislature consider requiring utilities to incorporate carbon abatement and offset costs in filings with regulators, and state officials should pursue alternative energy sources, such as biomass, bio-based natural gas, advanced coal technologies, biodiesel, ethanol and nuclear power, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Further, the legislature should provide the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) authority to implement a statewide greenhouse gas inventory to improve information and decision-making about carbon management, according to the draft paper.

Bush quietly asked the DEP to draft the paper earlier this year. The draft, completed in October, is circulating among select stakeholders for input, after which it will be handed over to Gov.-elect Charlie Crist (R), where it may help shape his administration’s climate change policies, according to sources.

Bush called for the paper late in his term but does not intend to take a position on its conclusions or recommendations in his remaining two weeks in office, according to a spokesman. Crist’s spokesman did not return calls seeking comment.

Ongoing Initiatives
In addition to Bush’s white paper, other Florida officials have already begun taking steps to develop climate change policies. An energy law passed by the legislature earlier this year created a new state energy commission that is charged, in part, with recommending steps and a schedule for the development of a state greenhouse gas reduction plan. The plan must address transportation and land use; power generation; residential, commercial, and industrial activities; waste management; agriculture and forestry; emissions-reporting systems; and public education, according to the new law.

The Florida House of Representatives has also formed an energy committee for the first time, under the umbrella Environment & Natural Resources Council. This panel is expected to explore climate change issues in the coming legislative session.

“Up until recently there had been little to no activity going on in Florida around these issues,” one environmentalist says. “There has been such a shift in people’s and policy makers’ understanding of global warming and climate change and all the complications.”

Given its significance to the national climate debate, environmentalists are targeting the state, arguing it may be primed for action given a series of factors that they believe will help them advance the issue. These include vulnerability to intense weather conditions such as hurricanes and an ability to produce cutting-edge biofuels that can reduce CO2 emissions.

The fact that Florida’s leading industries are tourism and agriculture, which both could be decimated by climate change impacts, is a key reason environmentalists are optimistic about changes, they say. “You only have to look at the hurricane science and the increased intensity to know that we’re on the front line, and with the high sea-level rise...over the last couple years, it’s pretty scary,” the environmentalist says.

Spurring Other Actions
Action by the state could also help spur growing efforts by other Southern states, including North Carolina and South Carolina, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in a region that is heavily dependent on coal and which has so far paid little attention to climate change issues.

North Carolina is already beginning to take action through a climate change commission, which will be delivering an interim report in January or February and a final report in May that will include numerous action-item recommendations, according to the clean-energy advocate.

South Carolina may soon take a significant step in the climate change arena under Gov. Mark Sanford (R), according to the source. “That would be very powerful. It’s not publicly known, but there are rumblings in South Carolina about some engagement.” The next logical place in the Southeast for action is Virginia or Florida, this source says.

But the observers caution that getting substantive climate change policies approved in Florida will be challenging, in part because of likely opposition from the politically powerful energy industry. The clean-energy advocate argues that getting past the industry may be especially difficult in Florida where the state’s notoriously high per-capita energy consumption rate – Florida consumers use about twice as much energy per capita as Californians – could reduce power usage and limit industry revenues.

“The South is much more dependent than the Northeast on coal and has more powerful utilities – they dominate both the legislature and regulatory commissions,” the clean-energy advocate says.

Nevertheless, environmentalists are optimistic about their prospects. Environmentalists are hopeful several Republican leaders, including Crist and House Speaker Marco Rubio, could play key roles on the issue.

Activists cite as a positive sign Crist’s role as state attorney general, where he fought utilities and other energy companies on various alleged environmental violations. “He has the potential to buck the status quo more if he continues to be more of a populist governor and looks out for consumers, and is willing to take on large [energy] customers,” says the clean energy advocate.

“We’re encouraging [Crist] to make it an important part of his first term,” the environmentalist adds. “He has been listening to what we’ve presented to him; he seems to be very open to addressing it. He understands it’s a real concern.”

Environmentalists also say Rubio may take an active role in pursuing legislation that bolsters energy efficiency, alternative cleaner energy technologies and biofuels, after he led a public clean-energy campaign earlier this year.

“Florida has a lot of catching up to do, and people like Crist and others across the aisle are beginning to understand that,” the environmentalist says.—Curt Barry