How to ensure a reliable energy supply, protect the economy, and address climate change while safeguarding the natural environment? The two presidential candidates from the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump, have presented starkly different plans.
In her nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, Kamala Harris outlined the “fundamental freedoms” crucial to the election, which include “the freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and be free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis.”
During her tenure as Vice President, Harris cast the deciding vote on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was essentially President Biden’s landmark climate legislation that passed solely with Democratic support.
As a former federal senator, she was one of the early architects of the Green New Deal, a set of proposals advocated by the progressive faction within the Democratic Party aimed at rapidly transitioning the United States to comprehensive use of green energy.
In contrast, Trump, in his nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, championed “Drill, baby, drill” and promised to repeal Biden’s “green new scam,” eliminating key parts of the 2022 climate law while boosting production of fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, and coal.
Trump is focused on ensuring Americans have the freedom to amass wealth, declaring, “We have more liquid gold beneath our feet than any other nation. We are a nation with an opportunity to make a fortune from energy.”
Environmental organizations largely support Harris, dubbing her a “battle-tested climate champion” who will confront major oil companies, inherit President Biden’s climate legacy, and implement policies to promote the development of electric vehicles and restrict the pollution from coal-fired power plants contributing to global warming.
Lena Moffitt, director of the environmental organization Evergreen Action, stated, “We will not allow a climate denier back into the Oval Office.”
Trump and other Republicans counter that the U.S. energy regulations passed by Biden and Harris over four years are “punitive regulations,” costing taxpayers billions of dollars by offering generous tax breaks for electric vehicles and other green initiatives.
Senator John Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming, expressed, “These overreaching and infuriating climate regulations will shut down power plants and increase energy costs for families nationwide.”
Currently, Harris holds an advantage on climate issues. According to a July survey by The Associated Press-NORC, over half of American adults indicated they “strongly” or “somewhat” trust Harris to address climate change. Around seven in ten people said they “do not trust much” or “do not trust at all” Trump on climate issues.
During her brief 2020 presidential campaign, Harris opposed offshore oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking.
Her campaign team has clarified that she no longer supports banning fracking as this common drilling practice is crucial to Pennsylvania’s economy, a key swing state and the second largest natural gas producer in the U.S.
Following her nomination by the Democratic Party, Harris told CNN in her first major post-nomination television interview, “As Vice President, I did not ban fracking; as President, I will not ban fracking… We can develop a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking.”
Kevin Book, director and president of ClearView Energy Partners, noted Harris’ evolving positions signify her attempts to balance support between voters and industry stakeholders while taking an overall “hostile stance” towards the oil and gas industry.
Harris and Democrats intend to use the authority vested in climate legislation to develop new rules that increase royalty payments from oil and gas companies for drilling on public lands, along with promoting the cleaning of old drilling sites and capping abandoned oil wells that often emit methane and other pollutants.
During his presidency, Trump actively worked to repeal dozens of environmental laws, aiming to make the U.S. possess the world’s cheapest energy and electricity. He plans to expand oil drilling on public lands, offer tax breaks to oil, natural gas, and coal producers, and expedite approvals for natural gas pipelines.
Trump criticized Biden’s stringent new regulations on vehicle emissions, labeling them as an “edict” for electric vehicles, asserting that the transition to electric cars would harm employment in the automotive industry. However, in recent months, his rhetoric has slightly softened, indicating support for only a “small part” of vehicle electrification.
Following strong endorsement from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Trump expressed this change at a rally in Atlanta in August.
Nevertheless, industry officials anticipate Trump will dismantle Biden’s electric vehicle promotion plan and attempt to revoke various tax incentive policies, viewing these measures as favorable to China.
While Harris has yet to announce her electric vehicle plan, she previously showed strong support for electric vehicles during her Vice Presidency. In an event in Seattle in 2022, she congratulated the allocation of around $1 billion in federal funding for the purchase of approximately 2,500 “clean” school buses, stating these funds and other federal climate initiatives aim to “save not only our children but also our planet.”
Harris focuses on implementing the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act worth $1 trillion passed in 2021, along with the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, providing nearly $375 billion in fiscal incentives for electric vehicles, clean energy projects, and manufacturing.
Under Biden and Harris’s leadership, the Department of Energy reported that American manufacturers created over 250,000 energy-related jobs last year, with clean energy accounting for over half.
President Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance criticize climate expenditures as a “money-grabbing scheme” by environmental organizations, alleging that these activities shift job opportunities from Americans to China and other countries while raising domestic energy prices.
Trump views climate change as a “hoax,” prompting the U.S. to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. He vowed to withdraw again, deeming this global carbon reduction plan unenforceable and a gift to China and other polluters.
Trump pledges to terminate wind energy subsidies included in climate legislation and roll back regulations proposed by the Biden administration to enhance the efficiency of light bulbs, stoves, dishwashers, and showerheads.
Harris believes that the Paris Agreement is crucial for addressing climate change and protecting “the future of our children.” Shortly after Biden took office in 2021, the U.S. rejoined the Paris Agreement.
This report was referenced from The Associated Press.