Climate change will flood Florida, but Marco Rubio thinks it isn't real
Sen. Marco Rubio denied human-caused climate change is real during a debate Thursday night in Miami, saying there are no "laws we can pass in Washington to change the weather."
Rubio's remark came in response to a question from Miami's Republican mayor, who said climate change posts an existential threat to the coastal Floridian city.
"Sure, the climate is changing and one of the reasons is because the climate has always been changing," Rubio said in response to how he'd combat climate change.
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This is not a new position for Rubio, who in the past has denied humans play a role in rising global temperatures.
Data show 2015 was the warmest year on record, with 2016 expected to be even warmer.
Scientists say rising temperatures could have dire consequences for coastal regions. Miami, in fact, is already seeing coastal flooding increase in frequency and severity.
Florida, which Rubio represents in Washington, is the most at-risk state from a sea level rise perspective, with 2,120 square miles of land sitting at less than three feet above the high tide line. This includes $145 billion in property value, according to research from the nonpartisan research group Climate Central.
But Rubio said passing environmental regulations on climate change would only raise costs on business, while not impacting the climate for the better.
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"America is not a planet," Rubio said. "It's a country."
Andrew Freedman contributed reporting.
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Emily Cahn is a political reporter at Mashable. Prior to Mashable, Cahn spent nearly four years at Roll Call, where she covered House and Senate races and congressional shenanigans. She has also been a copy editor at The Washington Post, and interned at The Hill, the Houston Chronicle and CBS News when she was a student at The George Washington University. Aside from being a political junkie, Cahn loves dogs and experimenting with cooking. Follow her on Twitter @CahnEmily, where she posts pictures of her family's two misbehaved poodles.
