On July 21, 2024, Biden nominated Vice President Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States. [1] According to news sources, Harris is expected to continue Biden’s climate achievements if she wins the election. Harris’ governing style as vice president was that of a pragmatic moderate. However, her climate policy leans more leftist than centrist. For example, if elected, she intends to ban fossil fuel leases on public lands and initiate a climate pollution fee for greenhouse gas emitters. She also asserted that a Harris administration would strengthen the prosecution of fossil fuel companies, as evidenced by her history as California attorney general. In her role, she investigated Exxon Mobil for misleading the public about the threat climate change posed to its business based on false financial disclosures.
As vice president, she incorporated climate change into foreign relations by holding a round table in Bangkok to connect environmental activists with clean energy experts. In addition, she has stated that although China needs to be held accountable for intellectual property theft and other issues, it should be an ally in climate action. In terms of legislation, Harris also co-sponsored the Green New Deal, which aimed to transition to 100% clean energy within a decade. Furthermore, she also favored a ban on hydraulic fracking, a technique that environmentalists say pollutes the air as well as groundwater.