Issue Position: Environment & Clean Energy

Issue Position

Conserving Florida's Environment

Florida would be nothing if not for the God-given beauty of the state we all call home. Charlie grew up on Florida's west coast, spending countless hours fishing, hiking, and hunting with his family. He believes we deserve a Governor who will protect the Everglades and our beaches, and ensure that every Floridian has clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. We need a Governor who recommits to preserving the open lands of our beautiful state so future generations can visit, hike, hunt, and fish.

As Governor, Charlie will recommit Florida to the environmental stewardship that has been a hallmark of Florida's history.

Within his first two years as Governor, Charlie will fully restore funding for Forever Florida, placing an emphasis on securing land critical to preserving access to clean drinking water. He will also work with large landowners to create incentives for them to keep their land free from overdevelopment.

Charlie believes it is time to get serious about Everglades restoration, and stopping Governor Scott's plan to continue to allow polluted runoff from Lake Okeechobee into the rivers on the east and west coasts of Florida. He will work with President Obama and Congress to ensure that both Florida and the federal government uphold their end of previous Everglades restoration agreements.

Reducing Florida's Dependence on Out-of-State Energy

Florida is the sunshine state, yet it is also home to some of the most restrictive laws in the country against solar energy investment. Charlie will work with the legislature to create a more open market to allow investors to grow Florida's solar energy sector -- a move that will both reduce our dependence on coal and oil and also create jobs.

Charlie will also work with local governments and schools to create incentives to transition bus fleets to running on cleaner natural gas that can be found right here in Florida.

Charlie will never support near-shore drilling for oil off the coasts of Florida. Without our beaches, Florida's tourism market will dry up. As the Deepwater Horizon spill proved, the science of safe and clean near or offshore drilling is still years away, and the risks of a similar spill off the coast of Florida far outweigh any benefits of near-shore drilling.

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