Trump has pledged to make America the dominant global energy producer and scrap government action to stop climate change.
He said he would again withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement and do away with EV mandates, a continuation of the work directed under his first term rolling back more than 100 climate-focused rules. Some environmental policy experts believe Trump will be more effective in rolling back policies at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Unspent funds from the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest pot of money directed at addressing climate change in U.S. history, would be clawed back under a Trump plan.
The former president has been a strong ally of the fossil fuel industry, promising to allow oil and natural gas companies to “drill baby drill” — a phrase that’s also in the official 2024 GOP platform — by streamlining permitting and cutting regulations. Growing domestic output will lower energy costs and build America’s energy sector, he said. Attacking Harris for her earlier opposition to fracking has also become go-to campaign trail fodder from Trump and his allies in the fossil fuel-rich swing states like Pennsylvania.
Though Trump has said he believes humans are, to some extent, causing climate change, he has also called global warming a hoax. (The vast majority of climate scientists agree that human activity is the main driver of the phenomenon, and warn that increasingly dire consequences will continue if current emissions trends continue.)
During his 2024 campaign, Trump has said he isn’t concerned about sea-level rise, which experts say could affect the homes and public infrastructure used by tens of millions of Americans.
Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla who has called global warming “a major risk,” may have Trump’s ear on the issue, but the two don’t appear to agree. Still, some policymakers see the possibility that the men find common ground on the government’s role on climate change.
Vance further fortifies Trump’s reputation with the fossil fuel industry, given the vice presidential nominee’s support of fracking, criticism of renewable energy and skepticism of climate science.
Though Democrats haven’t shown tremendous interest in engaging key voters on the issue of climate change, Harris tried to find a way into the issue: highlighting the rising cost of homeowners’ insurance in places that are experiencing extreme weather or flooding more often than they previously have.
Some analyses have suggested that climate change is a concern with enough importance for voters to swing elections — a trend that may grow over time, with younger voters often caring more about the issue than their older counterparts.