On 10 September 2024, the first U.S. presidential debate of the 2024 campaign was held. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump addressed a range of issues, with the economy, immigration, and jobs taking center stage.
However, climate policy was far from the main focus, despite being a prominent national issue.
When asked about climate change at the end of the debate, Harris referenced the Biden administration's record-setting domestic oil production and their expansion of clean energy initiatives. She emphasized a diversified energy strategy (including fracking) as critical to reducing foreign oil dependency. She also connected the climate crisis with the struggles of homeowners, pointing out that extreme weather events have led to rising costs and unaffordability for many.
In her platform, support for climate change is broader, citing “to tackle the climate crisis as she builds on this historic work, advances environmental justice, protects public lands and public health, increases resilience to climate disasters, lowers
household energy costs create millions of new jobs, and continues to hold polluters accountable to secure clean air and water for all”.
Donald Trump reiterated his critical stance on renewable energy and President Biden's climate policies. Trump criticized renewable energy sources like wind and solar, claiming they are too costly and unreliable, and Biden’s electric vehicle (EV)
policies, stating that they were harmful to the auto industry and that EVs were being made primarily in China.
On broader climate policy, Trump pledged to rescind unused funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the landmark piece of legislation under Biden and Kamala which allocated nearly USD 370 billion over ten years to energy security and climate
change programs. The IRA provides extended and expanded tax credits for renewable energy projects, including solar and wind, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). Trump labelled the IRA a "waste of money" and referred to its
policies as "job-killing" and harmful to U.S. industry. He also promised to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement again, criticizing it as a "rip-off" for the United States.
The lack of emphasis on clean energy and climate policy in the debate is a stark difference in the political landscape between Canada and the U.S., where in Canada climate change and carbon pricing are at the forefront in both the upcoming federal
election and provincial elections.
Most recently, on 12 September 2024, British Columbia’s Premier David Eby stated that he would remove the provincial Carbon Tax if a changing federal government removed the Federal Backstop. This is a significant development as B.C.’s Carbon Tax has been in place since 2008, marking the first North American jurisdiction to enforce carbon pricing. This supports a growing rhetoric across Canada against the consumer-facing price of carbon (such as the B.C. Carbon Tax or federal fuel charge), with ongoing support for industrial carbon pricing programs (such as the B.C. OBPS which Eby indicated he would keep in place).
The U.S. election takes place on 5 November 2024. ClearBlue will continue to provide updates to clients on the potential changes to climate and clean energy