WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� As the Earth sizzled through a summer with four of the , Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have starkly different visions on how to address a changing climate while ensuring a reliable energy supply. But neither has provided many details on how they would get there.
During her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, Harris briefly mentioned climate change as she outlined 鈥渇undamental freedoms鈥� at stake in the election, including 鈥渢he freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis.鈥�
As vice president, Harris cast the tie-breaking vote on the , President Joe Biden鈥檚 landmark climate law that was approved with only Democratic support. As a senator from California, she was an early sponsor of the , a sweeping series of proposals meant to swiftly move the U.S. to fully green energy that is championed by the Democratic Party鈥檚 most progressive wing.
Trump, meanwhile, led chants of and pledged to dismantle the Biden administration鈥檚 鈥済reen new scam鈥� in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. He has vowed to boost production of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal and repeal key parts of the 2022 climate law.
鈥淲e have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far,鈥� Trump said at the RNC. 鈥淲e are a nation that has the opportunity to make an absolute fortune with its energy.鈥�
鈥楥limate champion鈥� or unfair regulations?
Environmental groups, who largely back Harris, call her a 鈥減roven climate champion鈥� who will take on Big Oil and build on Biden's climate legacy, including policies that boost electric vehicles and .
"We won鈥檛 go back to a climate denier in the Oval Office,'' said Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen Action.
Republicans counter that Biden and Harris have spent four years adopting 鈥減unishing regulations鈥� that target American energy while lavishing generous and other green priorities that cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
鈥淭his onslaught of overreaching and outrageous climate rules will shut down power plants and increase energy costs for families across the country,'' said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. "Republicans will work to stop them and fight for solutions that protect our air and water and allow our economy to grow.鈥�
Democrats have a clear edge on the issue. More than half of U.S. adults say they trust Harris 鈥渁 lot鈥� or 鈥渟ome鈥� when it comes to addressing climate change, according to an . About 7 in 10 say they have 鈥渘ot much鈥� trust in Trump or 鈥渘one at all鈥� when it comes to climate. Fewer than half say they lack trust in Harris.
A look at where the two candidates stand on key climate and energy issues:
Fracking and offshore drilling
Harris said during her short-lived 2020 presidential campaign that she opposed offshore drilling for oil and , an oil and gas extraction process better known as fracking.
But her campaign has clarified that she , a common drilling practice that is crucial to the economy in Pennsylvania, a key swing state and the nation鈥檚 second-largest producer of natural gas.
鈥淎s vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking,'' Harris told CNN Thursday in her first major television interview as the Democratic nominee. "We can grow ... a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking.''
Kevin Book, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners, a Washington research firm, said Harris鈥� evolving views show she is 鈥渢rying to balance climate voters and industry supporters,鈥� even as her campaign takes 鈥漚n adversarial stance鈥� with the oil and gas industry overall.
Harris and Democrats have cited new rules 鈥� authorized by the climate law 鈥� to increase royalties that oil and gas companies pay to drill or mine on public lands. She also has supported efforts to clean up old drilling sites and cap abandoned wells that often spew methane and other pollutants.
Trump, who pushed to roll back , says his goal is for the U.S. to have the cheapest energy and electricity in the world. He鈥檇 increase oil drilling on public lands, offer tax breaks to oil, gas and coal producers and speed the approval of natural gas pipelines.
Electric vehicles
Trump has frequently criticized tough new vehicle emissions rules imposed by Biden, incorrectly calling them an electric vehicle 鈥渕andate.鈥� Environmental Protection Agency rules issued this spring target tailpipe emissions from and and encourage 鈥� but do not require 鈥� sales of new EVs to meet the new standards.
Trump has said EV manufacturing will destroy jobs in the auto industry. In recent months, however, he has softened his rhetoric, saying he鈥檚 for 鈥渁 very small slice鈥� of cars being electric.
The 鈥渆ndorsed me very strongly,鈥� Trump said at an August rally in Atlanta. Even so, industry officials expect Trump to roll back Biden鈥檚 EV push and attempt to repeal tax incentives that Trump claims benefit China.
Harris has not announced an EV plan but has strongly supported EVs as vice president. At a 2022 event in Seattle, she celebrated roughly $1 billion in federal grants to purchase about 2,500 鈥渃lean鈥� school buses. As many as 25 million children ride the familiar yellow buses each school day, and they will have a healthier future with a cleaner fleet, Harris said.
The grants and other federal climate programs not only are aimed at 鈥渟aving our children, but for them, saving our planet,鈥� she said.
Climate law, jobs
Harris has focused on implementing the , as well as , which provided nearly $375 billion in financial incentives for electric cars, clean energy projects and manufacturing.
Under Biden and Harris, American manufacturers created more than 250,000 energy jobs last year, the Energy Department said, with .
Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, deride climate spending as a "money grab'' for environmental groups and say it will ship Americans' jobs to China and other countries while increasing energy prices at home.
鈥淜amala Harris cares more about climate change than about inflation,鈥� Vance wrote in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.
Goodbye Paris?
Trump, who has cast climate change as a 鈥渉oax," withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. He has vowed to do so again, calling the global plan to reduce carbon emissions unenforceable and a gift to China and other big polluters. Trump vows to end wind subsidies included in the climate law and eliminate regulations imposed and proposed by the Biden administration to increase the energy efficiency of lightbulbs, stoves, dishwashers and shower heads.
Harris has called the Paris Agreement crucial to address climate change and protect 鈥渙ur children鈥檚 future.鈥�
The U.S. soon after Biden took office in 2021.
LNG pause
After approving numerous projects to export liquefied natural gas, or LNG, the Biden administration in January . The delay allows officials to review the economic and climate impacts of natural gas, a fossil fuel that emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
The decision aligned the Democratic president with environmentalists who fear the recent increase in LNG exports is locking in potentially catastrophic planet-warming emissions even as Biden has .
Trump has said he would approve terminals 鈥渙n my very first day back鈥� in office.
Harris has not outlined plans for LNG exports, but analysts expect her to impose tough climate standards on export projects as part of her larger stance against large oil and gas companies.
Matthew Daly, The Associated Press
