CNN
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When Kamala Harris ran for president in 2019, she repeatedly urged oil companies to prepare for steep fines and even criminal prosecution for their role in contributing to climate change under a future Harris administration. I warned you.
Now, as the Democratic candidate, Harris is emphasizing the country’s record oil and gas production. Although she has said little about climate change and is an ardent supporter of the Green New Deal, her campaign’s website provides few details about climate policy.
It’s a clear shift in the delicate politics around energy, but also how Harris has abandoned a number of progressive positions she held before joining Joe Biden’s 2020 candidacy. It also shows that.
As a 2019 presidential candidate, Harris vowed to eliminate the filibuster in order to pass a Green New Deal that would put strict deadlines on reducing fossil fuel use. She also signed a pledge to make all future energy projects accountable for being “climate change experiments” and pledged to halt two pipeline construction projects opposed by environmentalists. She pledged to ban hydraulic fracturing and signed onto niche environmental proposals such as a ban on plastic straws. And she posted a number of ads on Facebook touting her plan to “challenge” the oil lobby and pass a Green New Deal.
In November 2019, when attendees at a South Carolina town hall asked whether companies like Chevron and Shell would be investigated for their contributions to climate change, Harris said: We should be prepared.” change.
Harris went on to liken the actions of major oil companies to Big Tobacco, accusing them of knowingly profiting from environmental damage while concealing the harm caused by their products.
“And just like the tobacco companies, years later, they knew the harm their products were causing because they had done the research. They were very profitable, so they So did these big oil companies, who kept it a secret. And they have to pay for it,” she said. “So the answer is yes.”
Harris made a similar promise a month ago in a conversation with the liberal Mother Jones magazine, saying, “Let’s not just put them on the pocketbook, but let’s have tough and serious penalties for their actions.” ” he said.
Harris’ energy and climate shift began in August 2020, when she joined Biden as a running mate. That year, she reversed her stance on wanting to ban fracking from a 2019 CNN town hall.
In August of this year, weeks after Biden ended his re-election bid, Harris’ campaign announced that she would no longer support the Green New Deal. She says she doesn’t want to ban fracking and doesn’t want to ban plastic straws anymore.
In a local interview in Pennsylvania last month, Harris was asked about a Republican ad highlighting past comments and was again forced to defend her history of wanting to ban fracking.
“Well, let me start by saying that I think that ad that you described is a complete misrepresentation and is intended to scare people,” Harris responded. “I will not ban fracking. I did not do that as vice president.”
Campaigning in Philadelphia last month, Harris pointed to the Biden administration’s track record of increasing domestic oil production, telling voters: ”
The U.S. energy industry currently produces more oil than any other country in history, but energy advocates say the surge is due to market forces rather than Biden’s policies.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has imposed regulatory fines on oil companies for environmental violations, including a $241.5 million settlement with Marathon Oil and a $40 million settlement with BP over air pollution. It also includes a dollar settlement. The measure targeted specific issues, such as methane emissions, but was through regulatory enforcement rather than the outright prosecution that Harris once proposed.
At the same time, climate change is not a top priority for many voters. According to Gallup, only 50% of voters think climate change is “very” or “very important” to their vote, making climate change one of the lowest priorities this election cycle. It has become.
Harris campaign spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg emphasized the Democratic presidential candidate’s support for climate action and praised U.S. energy production at record levels.
“As president, Kamala Harris will realistically address the threat of climate change and ensure America does not lose its future clean energy economy and industry. As California’s attorney general, she stands up to polluters to protect our environment. I’ve done the same thing and will do the same as president.”
Harris’ 2020 campaign archives found more than a dozen references to prosecuting Big Oil for either pollution or climate change. Harris cited climate change as an urgent threat and said aggressive action is urgently needed.
At a campaign event in Iowa in November 2019, Harris blamed the fossil fuel industry for the climate crisis and blamed Big Tobacco companies for knowingly and misinformed about the harm they were causing. I compared it with the history that has been spread.
“They had done their research and knew the harm their products caused, but they still promoted their products because they were making tons of money. It’s the same with Big Oil. They’ve known for a long time what they were doing to destroy this planet that God gave us,” she said.
Harris has occasionally highlighted her record as California attorney general, pointing to legal actions she claims she has taken against oil companies.
During a CNN town hall on climate change in 2019, Harris was asked if she would sue ExxonMobil, to which she replied, “I sued ExxonMobil.”
However, this claim was false. Harris launched an investigation into ExxonMobil for allegedly misleading the public and shareholders about the risks of climate change, but did not file a lawsuit against the company.
As her campaign revealed to CNN, Harris’ legal actions during her tenure as California attorney general actually resulted in settlements with other oil companies.
For example, she secured $14 million in settlements from BP and Atlantic Richfield Company and $11.5 million in settlements with Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips for violations related to underground fuel tanks. However, no lawsuit was filed against ExxonMobil, and neither was her successor after she left office to become a senator in 2017.
