The Democratic Party devoted seven pages of its 90-page program for 2024 to climate policy and gave some hints about what Vice President Kamala Harris could do to combat climate change if she wins the presidential election.
Harris, who only appeared as her party’s candidate in mid-July after President Biden dropped out of the racehas not yet formulated its own climate policy. The issue was barely mentioned at the Democratic Party convention this week, so the party platform is the only indication of what climate policy might look like in a Harris White House.
During her almost 40-minute speech at the Democratic Party Convention On Thursday night, she spoke about the economy, the war in Gaza and immigration, but mentioned the issue only briefly once when she outlined the “fundamental freedoms” at stake in this election – “the freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water and live free from the pollution that is exacerbating the climate crisis.”
Stevie O’Hanlon, a spokesman for the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate group, said Harris’ decision not to speak more forcefully on climate change – either at the DNC or beforehand – was a “missed opportunity.”
“Anyone running for president has a responsibility to talk about it,” she said.
While voters await more details on their plans to address climate change, here are some key takeaways from the party’s climate manifesto.
Further expanding the foundations of the Inflation Reduction Act
In line with the objectives of the Inflation Reduction Actwhich has invested in containing health care costs and combating climate change, the Democratic Party’s platform calls for investments in clean energy, such as solar and offshore wind, and in the electric grid, with a focus on making these technologies available to communities most affected by climate change.
The “clean energy boom,” according to the platform, is expected to triple clean energy production, reduce electricity prices by nine percent and gas prices by up to 13 percent by 2030.
To bring this new technology online, Democrats want to create new taxpayer-funded jobs by executive order and triple the American Climate Corps – a program that trains 20,000 young people in clean energy and climate change jobs – by the end of the decade. The law created over 330,000 jobs, according to a White House press release on the second anniversary of the legislation.
Critics of the Inflation Reduction Act call it a “climate slush fund” and question whether it will meet the Biden administration’s ambitious carbon reduction goals. A Princeton University study last year estimated that while the law would significantly reduce emissions reductions, it would fall short of national 2030 climate goals.
The rollout of rebates on solar panels, heat pumps, home insulation and electric cars has faced some obstacles. It has been slower than expected and those who have benefited from the rebates have mostly been in the upper income groups, raising questions about whether the policy is also benefiting the middle class.
Achieve zero-emission agriculture by 2050
The platform also calls for the adoption of practices that will make agriculture in the United States emissions-free by 2050, making the country the first to achieve this. According to USDA data, agriculture was responsible for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in 2021.
According to the platform, with funding from the Ministry of Agriculture, over 80,000 farms have adopted “climate-smart practices” aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions and improving soil health.
Despite these advances, full decarbonization is likely to be an uphill battle. Experts point out, according to The Conversation, that many of the proposed climate measures could be more easily implemented by large corporations, but are impractical or simply too expensive for small farmers.
Electrification of the transport sector
Democrats also aim to eliminate the transportation sector’s carbon footprint by 2050. Vehicles are responsible for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
The Biden administration issued a rule requiring that about 56% of all new vehicles sold be electric by 2032. Americans are not yet convinced about electric vehiclesfound a survey earlier this summer. Consumers are concerned about the range and charging time of electric vehicles. According to Kelley Blue Book, around 1.2 million electric cars were sold in 2023, less than 10% of total sales in the US vehicle market this year.
The slow expansion of electric charging stations has presented a huge challenge for the Biden administration, which has barely met its goal of installing 500,000 charging stations nationwide by 2030. According to auto news site Autoblog, only seven charging stations had been installed through June this year.
Fund climate agencies and research
Democrats want to increase funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), NASA, NOAA, the National Science Foundation and other agencies to ensure that “America leads the world in clean energy innovation.” That would require congressional approval, which would be challenging even with Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. And it would be even more difficult if Republicans win the majority.
“Stand up to the big oil companies”
The program also promises to take tough action against the oil companies that are fighting for their power in the energy industry. The party announces that it will cut billions in oil and gas subsidies in the future, fight price gouging and increase protection against drilling and mining in the Arctic.
But those promises don’t mean Democrats are turning their backs on gas entirely. Under Biden’s leadership, jobs in the fossil fuel industry have actually grown faster than in clean energy, and U.S. oil production has hit record highs, according to Reuters, which has tracked his fossil fuel record. Harris has not yet released her energy policy plans, but her campaign has said she will not ban fracking if elected president.
Strengthen infrastructure
Democrats propose building new roads, bridges and ports that can withstand the worst impacts of climate change. In 2023, the United States suffered a record $28 billion in climate disasters. The bipartisan infrastructure deal passed under the Biden administration allocated $50 billion for extreme weather protection.
The fate of thousands of such construction projects started under Biden will depend on who ends up in the White House. Some Republicans have said they oppose further funding for the measure.
Strengthening America’s “global leadership in climate protection”
Democrats want the United States to lead the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
“As Democrats, we believe the United States has an indispensable role to play in solving the climate crisis, and we have an obligation to help other nations in that work,” the party platform states.
The US demonstrated this role most clearly when it negotiated and signed the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016, in the final months of former President Barack Obama’s administration. Under the accord, countries agreed to cut their greenhouse gas emissions to slow the rise in global temperatures. After taking office in 2021, former President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the agreement, and Mr Biden signed an order to rejoin on his first day as president.
