On Monday, climate activists gathered at Rep. Kathy Castor’s Tampa office, calling on her to “cut up the check” to the fossil fuel industry before a Florida House infrastructure vote on Sept. 27.
Every year, American taxpayers spend $15 billion subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, and the Florida activists say it’s time to stop the funding completely, for the sake of a healthy future. In August, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report on climate change, pointing out that it is “widespread, rapid and intensifying.”
“The time for climate symbolism is over, now is our time to act,” said Brooke Errett, Food & Water Watch Florida Senior Organizer, as she held a gigantic pair of scissors in her hands. “Our actions today to keep fossil fuels in the ground and cut off taxpayer-funded subsidies, ending the fossil fuel industry’s lifeline, will pay dividends for generations to come.”
Errett went on to say that Castor, who is Chair of the Select Committee on Climate Crisis, has repeatedly called for an end to fossil fuel subsidies, and it’s time she used her position of influence to show up to end them.
“We need to end fossil fuel subsidies now, and expect Rep. Castor to lead on making it happen,” Errett said.
Activists delivered a sign on letter to Castor’s office from 26 Tampa Bay organizations urging her to do just that.
“I’m grateful for the young activists urging us to transition to clean energy—and I share their concerns about the worsening climate crisis. We all know what’s at stake in the Sunshine State if we don’t take urgent action,” Castor told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay in an email. “That’s why I’m working this week to pass historic investments in the Build Back Better Act to help us move to a clean energy economy, as we create good-paying jobs, expand renewables, and ensure a livable world for future generations.”
Errett says Castor’s statement doesn’t directly address the activists' concerns brought to her office on Monday.
“Until we close every tax loop, stop investing any money in fossil fuel expenditures and until we stop subsidizing giving fossil fuel companies money for false solutions, the problem still remains,” she says.
During the demonstration, representatives of Food & Water Watch, Sunrise Movement, Tampa Bay Climate Alliance, Physicians for Social Responsibility Florida, Florida Student Power Network and Central Florida Jobs with Justice took turns holding a check that said “Big Oil & Gas More Than Forty Billion.”
Deborah Trehy with Physicians for Social Responsibility Florida said that the protection of the environment is a public health issue, pointing out that a polluted environment leads to heart attacks and other health maladies. She brought a ‘prescription’ to Castor’s office, which advised her to, “Discontinue fossil fuel subsidies, change to renewable STAT.”
Mary-Elizabeth Estrada from the Florida Student Power Network said that ending fossil fuel subsidies means a livable planet for her generation.
“This industry has spent billions of dollars lobbying for subsidies to actively destroy our planet, when they could have been investing in clean renewable energy for our future,” Estrada said. “The time is now to cut the check to fossil fuel companies."
The latest bipartisan infrastructure bill includes approximately $25 billion of new subsidies for the fossil fuel industry. Representative Castor has called for an end to fossil fuel subsidies since taking office in 2007, most recently in a conversation with Errett.
At the end of the rally, the activists did not cut up the giant fake check. They are instead calling on Castor to cut the check with them before the vote on Sept. 27, preferably during a press conference with the activists, which they’re calling on Castor to schedule.
“We believe she can be a champion for the environment,” Errett said. “We need her to be a loud voice fighting these subsidies in D.C.”
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This article appears in Sep 23-29, 2021.