The Candidates and Climate

Read this if the climate is an important voting issue for you.

The differences between 2024 Presidential candidates Trump and Harris are stark—perhaps nowhere more so than when it comes to climate.  

During his Presidency, Mr. Trump systematically dismantled the foundations of the U.S. climate policy. He pulled the nation out of the Paris climate accord; rolled back more than 100 environmental regulations; methodically emasculated the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency; and eliminated jobs that oversaw the protection of air, water, endangered species and human health.

If he gets elected again, he has promised to halt the transition away from oil, gas, and coal, and to scale up fossil fuel development.  He has also vowed eviscerate the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which has injected more than $370 billion in tax incentives and subsidies for clean energy production; spurred nearly $500 billion in private investment in solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicle batteries and charging stations; and created more than 100,000  clean energy jobs in both red and blue states.  

In glaring contrast, Kamala Harris has spent decades advocating for climate action and social equity. As District Attorney in San Francisco, she formed an environmental justice unit to tackle environmental crimes impacting low-income residents.  

As California’s Attorney General, she took on the big oil companies, investigating the extent of ExxonMobil’s knowledge of climate change and corresponding damage inflicted upon the public with deceptive marketing campaigns. She also negotiated $50 million in settlements with BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Phillips 66 for pollution and emissions infractions, and she filed a lawsuit against the federal government to block oil fracking off the coast of California.  

During her short-lived 2020 presidential bid, she supported ending fossil fuel subsidies, ceasing fossil fuel extraction on public lands, implementing a carbon fee on polluters, pursuing a national fracking ban, and ending fossil fuel exports.  

She was one of the original sponsors of the Green New Deal, and she collaborated with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to introduce the Climate Equity Act to establish an Office of Climate and Environmental Justice Accountability to assess the impact of environmental legislation and regulation on low-income communities.   

“Indigenous communities, black and brown communities, and the youth of our nation are calling for and demanding justice,” Harris said when the Climate Equity Act was introduced. “We need them at the table from the beginning.” 

She also partnered with Senators Tammy Duckworth and Cory Booker to introduce the Environmental Justice for All Act, mandating that the Environmental Protection Agency consider the cumulative effects on air and water pollution before issuing permits in low-income communities that are already struggling with pollution and climate change challenges.  

As Vice President, she applied her legal expertise and plaintiff-driven approach to climate action, helping the administration pass and implement the Inflation Reduction Act.

Last year, she attended the United Nations’ COP28 climate summit in Dubai, spreading the message to other global leaders that “the urgency of this moment is clear. The clock is no longer just ticking, it is banging. And we must make up for lost time.”  She backed up her words with action, pledging $3 billion to a climate aid fund for developing countries.

If voters chose to elect her as #47, it’s anticipated that she will magnify the Biden administration’s climate achievements.  Given that Harris believes that “crimes against the environment are crimes against communities,” there is no doubt that environmental justice will continue to be a central pillar of her agenda.   

It’s expected that she will continue to implement the pillars of the IRA and pursue the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030, and 100 percent by 2050. 

But it won’t be all smooth sailing—the implementation of the IRA has challenges.  For example, logistical obstacles, like obtaining permits and connecting to the grid, are still hamstringing wind and solar developers that want to take advantage of lucrative IRA tax credits. To achieve successful implementation, these bottlenecks will need to be ironed out. 

And there is still a long road ahead with respect to emissions reduction targets.  While emissions dropped 17.5 percent in the U.S. last year (when compared to 2005 levels), that’s still a far cry from the 50 percent reduction target by 2030.  

At the rate we’re going, it’s estimated that we’ll only hit a 30-40 percent reduction by 2030, and a 100 percent reduction by 2050 is nearly impossible without much stricter regulations for highly polluting sectors like steel, cement, and fossil fuels (which won’t be an easy feat, especially now that the Supreme Court limited the authority of federal agencies.)

To reach those climate goals, pundits claim that actions considered by a Harris administration may include: 

• Adopting a standard that would cap greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing.
• Passing a second climate investment bill that would issue grants, loans, and tax credits for the industrial sector to use greener technologies.
• Putting a price on carbon to incentivize emission reductions.
• Ending fossil fuel subsidies.

For more on the importance of a green future, check out our information on the impact of carbon credits and ESG for Building .