Will Hurricane Ian force Ron DeSantis to confront climate reality?

There have been successes, including a massive, three-year land acquisition program that has preserved more than 113,000 acres of Florida for conservation. And in July, with an eye on tourism dollars, he vetoed a controversial water bill that analysts said would threaten restoration of the Everglades wetlands.

But in terms of the climate emergency, other measures have infuriated environment advocates, particularly his signing of a bill last year effectively locking Florida into fossil fuels by banning municipalities committing to cleaner, renewable sources of energy including wind and solar.

The non-partisan Audubon Society, meanwhile, praises DeSantis, but also acknowledges much of the progress in resilience has taken place at local level, such as the south-east Florida climate change compact alliance of multiple counties.