During a Wednesday speech in the Florida Everglades urging the nation to act on climate change, President Obama took a subtle jab at Florida’s alleged ban on the term “climate change.”
“Simply refusing to say the words ‘climate change’ doesn’t mean that climate change isn’t happening,” Obama said during the speech, according to the New York Times.
Obama urged leaders to acknowledge the impacts of climate change.
“Climate change can no longer be denied,” he said. “It can’t be edited out. It can’t be omitted from the conversation. And action can no longer be delayed.”
Earlier on Wednesday, White House spokesman Eric Schultz was asked about the reports that Florida has banned terms like “climate change” and “global warming.”
“If it’s not true, we look forward to them contributing to the discussion about one of the most important issues that we face,” Schultz said. “If the Scott administration is now joining the rest of us in confirming the impacts of climate change on both the environment and the energy sectors, we welcome that change in position on the governor’s part.”
The Florida government has denied that there is any official policy prohibiting employees from discussing climate change. A Florida official recently said “climate change” multiple times in a state senate hearing in an attempt to prove that the ban does not exist. But a Florida state official repeatedly dodged the term “climate change” during a hearing in March.
