As Vice President Kamala Harris marches toward the Democratic nomination, climate advocates are beginning to gain access to her record on the issue. And they like what they see.
Even before his term ended, President Joe Biden left his mark as the most pro-climate president in American history. But Harris is an exciting climate candidate in her own right, several advocates told CNN.
Harris is a “tremendous advocate” for climate and environmental justice, said Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of government affairs at the Conservation League Voters Action Fund.
Climate action has permeated Harris’s career for decades. As California’s attorney general, Harris prosecuted major oil companies such as BP and ConocoPhillips, and investigated Exxon Mobil for its role in disinformation about climate change. While in the Senate, she sponsored the Green New Deal resolution. And as vice president, Harris cast the crucial tie-breaking vote to pass Democrats’ historic climate bill.
“Vice President Harris would crush it against Trump,” Biden’s first national climate adviser, Gina McCarthy, said in a statement. “She will fight every day so that all Americans have access to clean air, clean water and a healthy environment.”
Harris’ candidacy comes at a decisive moment for the planet. 2023 was the hottest year on record and 2024 only continued that trend, with new data showing that July 21st was the hottest day on record.
With rising global temperatures bringing the world closer to irreparable damage, scientists say the only way to minimize the damage is to quickly implement clean energy on a large scale by the end of this decade.
Supporters say Harris’s record on climate could not be more different than that of her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump — a man who has vowed to pull the U.S. out of its climate commitments and “drill, baby, drill ”.
With Democrats quickly rallying behind Harris, they are eager to return attention to Trump’s agenda.
“It has been largely forgotten how disastrous Trump has been on climate and how disastrous it would be for our planet if he were elected again,” Jamal Raad, co-founder and former executive director of Evergreen Action, told CNN.
Democratic campaign will address environmental issues
The risks of the 2024 elections for the global climate could not be greater.
Trump has vowed to push America decisively back to fossil fuels, promising to undo Biden’s climate and clean energy legacy and withdraw America from its global climate commitments.
Given the stakes, climate advocates are eager to clarify the stark contrast between Trump and Harris.
“Harris wants to continue to build this bright clean energy future, and Trump, on the other hand, that Big Oil really represents the worst of our past,” said Lori Lodes, executive director of the advocacy group Climate Power.
Republicans are already attacking Harris on the energy issue, specifically for her past support of a fracking ban during the 2020 Democratic Party primaries. Biden opposed such a ban, and Harris later dropped that support when she became his running mate. plate.
Democrats hope to use their climate agenda to motivate young people, something polls showed Biden was facing. Advocates said Democrats could benefit from a younger candidate speaking to young voters about climate.
And supporters added that Harris’ distancing from some of Biden’s most controversial climate measures as president — such as his approval last year of the massive Alaskan oil drilling project known as Willow — could benefit her.
Members of the youth climate group Sunrise Movement will be watching whether Harris moves to distinguish herself from Biden in Willow, Sunrise Movement spokesperson Stevie O’Hanlon told CNN.
“Harris breaks with Biden’s most unpopular decisions among young people?” O’Hanlon said. “She has the opportunity to define herself as a new candidate and different from Biden. This is the critical work for her in the coming days.”
Second term priorities
A second Democratic administration will continue to implement Biden’s climate law and defend many of Biden’s key climate rules.
If elected, one of the biggest climate goals Harris would have to set at the start of her administration is how much she would reduce her climate pollution by 2035 – a requirement of the Paris climate agreement – the same agreement that Trump promised would once again withdraw the U.S. if he were elected.
A recent analysis by the nonpartisan Rhodium Group found that while the U.S. is not on track to meet Biden’s goal of cutting U.S. emissions in half by 2030, it could exceed that goal by 2035. The Rhodium report shows that the reduction of emissions in the energy sector will be essential to US climate goals, and this will require strong rules from the Environmental Protection Agency in addition to Biden’s climate bill.
“It will be important who is in control of the EPA,” said Ben King, an analyst at Rhodiumto CNN.
Harris has maintained a close working relationship with the heads of Biden’s environmental cabinet, including EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
The two traveled together, including on a lead pipe audition tour. In statements to CNNRegan recalled an emotional and in-depth conversation Harris had with a Milwaukee mother whose son was affected by lead poisoning.
“She had a conversation with that mother that I’ll never forget,” Regan said. “There’s not a lot of relief you can give someone who’s been through that experience, but she found a way to connect.”
Whether it’s lead pipes or scattering billions in climate funding, Regan said Harris is a leader who “doesn’t come at the surface — she digs deep.”
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