Kamala on Climate

Author

Tim Mohin
26 Jul

An unprecedented political tsunami hit on Sunday when President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. In just a few days, it seems all but certain that the new Democratic Presidential nominee will be Vice President Kamala Harris.

A Harris Administration would inherit a long list of climate policies achieved by the Biden Administration. President Biden often claims he has done more than any President in US history on climate and sustainability. 

For example, Biden brought the US back into the Paris Climate Accord - endorsed by nearly all nations in the world.  After epic political battles, Congress approved his “Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)” - the largest climate-tech stimulus bill in history. The bi-partisan Infrastructure Act and the Chips Act each have significant climate provisions as well. The impact of all of these policies is still rolling out, while the Biden Administration has moved a list of sustainability regulations that are too long to mention here. Biden’s presidency has been nothing short of transformational for advancing sustainability in the US.

Now, on to Vice President Harris. Her record makes it very likely that a Harris Administration will continue or even deepen the focus on climate, with a focus on social justice. As far back as 2005, when Harris was Attorney General of San Francisco, she set up an environmental justice unit. The architect of California’s climate law (SB 253), Sen. Scott Wiener, who worked on her campaign for that office, said, “I remember as DA, she was very focused on pollution issues.” 

In her time as Attorney General for San Francisco and for California between 2004 and 2017, she took a hard line on oil and gas companies and other polluters, winning tens of millions from BP, Chevron, Volkswagen, and others. She even sued the Obama administration back in 2016 for agreeing to allow fracking off the California coast. She won the case, which led to an injunction on all offshore fracking in the Pacific. 

Throughout her time as a US Senator, Presidential Candidate, and Vice President, she has continued her climate advocacy. As a Senator, she was a proponent of the “Green New Deal.” During the Presidential primaries, she pledged $10 trillion to climate neutrality (almost 10x more than Biden’s plan), proposed a carbon tax, and an end to fossil fuel subsidies and fracking. Then, as Vice President, Harris cast the deciding vote in passing the Inflation Reduction Act and argued in favor of IRA funds being invested in disadvantaged communities. 

However, her green credentials will also be her Achilles heel for attacks from the right as she defends her anti-oil and gas record. It’s likely she will temper some of her positions to appeal to a broader voting block, particularly in energy-rich swing states like Pennsylvania. Christopher Borick of Pennsylvania’s Muhlenberg College said, “Harris will be more open to attack on anti-fracking positions…the issue can have an impact on a key slice of the electorate in a state where presidential elections are won on the margins.”

As the race takes shape, the differences in climate and energy are emerging as a stark dividing line. Eric Beightel, a top Biden administration official, said Donald Trump’s return to the White House would be “catastrophic to our hopes and dreams of our clean energy transition.”

Two things are clear in this fast-moving story: Climate and Energy will be a top issue in the Presidential race, and Biden’s climate legacy hangs in the balance.  

“Project 2025” Decoded

To get a better understanding of what a Trump Administration would do on climate, the 900-page “Project 2025” provides the playbook.

This article from Drilled decodes the playbook and lays out implications of what a Trump Administration would likely do to the reign of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including:

  • Eliminate climate change programs.

  • Limit the Agency's ability to regulate under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.

  • Eliminate programs on environmental justice.

  • Cut research funding.

  • Give more authority to political appointees over scientists.

However, Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025 and recently changed position on EVs - after calling them a part of “meaningless new green scam ideas,” he later said, “I’m totally for them… I’ve driven them, and they are incredible” (some have linked the change to donations from Tesla founder Elon Musk). 

EPA Spending Spree

The EPA has until September 20th to issue $27 billion climate grants under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund - part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The time crunch is aimed at preventing a possible Trump Administration from blocking the spending.

However, the tight deadlines and small operational budget tied to the fund have led to concerns about mismanagement. Matthew Tejada, former deputy assistant administrator at the EPA, said, “The (misspending) concern is legitimate, the EPA got more money than it could have ever imagined, and timelines — deadlines — that were as close to wildly unrealistic as you can get.” Any errors in the process will undoubtedly be instant talking points in the election season. 

Von Der Leyen Regains EU Presidency

On the other side of the Atlantic, Ursula von der Leyen - another female leader known for advancing the sustainability agenda - won her second term as EU President. She had to play what Politico called a “green balancing act” to get enough support from both greens and conservatives to seal her second five-year term. 

Despite saying in her manifesto, “We must and will stay the course on all of our goals, including those set out in the European Green Deal,” to get support from a wider base, she recategorized green policies as measures to boost the economy and security. One of her first commitments was to introduce a “Clean Industrial Deal” within her first 100 days in office to speed up the decarbonization of “hard to abate” heavy industries. She also announced a Circular Economy Act, a plan to boost investment in clean tech, and pledges to lower energy prices. 

Harsh Sentences For Climate Protestors

The climate activism group Just Stop Oil has made headlines in recent years for its controversial protest methods. Their protests have included throwing soup on priceless artwork, disrupting high-profile sports events, and blocking airport runways. 

The UK is cracking down on these protests by enforcing a new public nuisance law, which last week saw five Just Stop Oil activists given a collective 21 years of jail time. The protestors were found guilty of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance for a protest that blocked a main highway in 2022. Roger Hallam, a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, was given a 5-year sentence, while the others were given four years. 

Another Hottest Day Ever

Last July, we saw a string of seven consecutive days, which was the hottest day ever recorded. This Sunday and Monday, those records were smashed again. Monday (July 22, 2024) beat the record held from the previous day (July 21), which took the dubious crown from July 6, 2023. Carlo Buontempo, Director of Copernicus Climate Change Service, said, “We are now in truly uncharted territory, and as the climate keeps warming, we are bound to see new records being broken in future months and years.”

We have now seen nine global heat records come and go in just over 12 months. This new normal is accelerating physical climate risks to unprecedented levels. Wildfire season in Canada is breaking records, with 25,000 residents ordered to evacuate from Jasper National Park this week. And the world’s oceans are getting dangerously close to their limits of absorbing heat. 

The views expressed on this website/weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer. 

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