Grist: The climate stakes of the Harris-Trump election
https://grist.org/politics/the-climate-stakes-of-the-harris-trump-election/The climate stakes of the Harris-Trump election
From public health to public lands, here are 15 ways the next president could affect the climate and your life.
Published Oct 23, 2024
Helene and Milton, the two massive hurricanes that just swept into the country killing hundreds of people, and leaving both devastation and rumblings of political upheaval in seven states amounted to their own October surprise. Not that the storms led to some irredeemable gaffe or unveiled some salacious scandal. The surprise, really, may be that not even the hurricanes have pushed
concerns about climate change more toward the center of the presidential campaign.
With early voting already underway and two weeks before Election Day, when voters will decide between Vice President Kamala Harris, who has called climate change an existential threat, and former President Donald Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, Grists editorial staff presents a climate-focused voters guide a package of analyses and predictions about what the next four years may bring from the White House, depending on who wins.
The next administration will be decisive for the countrys progress on critical climate goals. By 2030, just a year after the next president would leave office, the U.S.
has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels, and expects to supply up to 13 million electric vehicles annually. A little further down the line, though no less critical, the countrys climate goals include reaching 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035 and achieving a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.
As you gear up to vote, here are 15 ways that Harris and Trumps climate- and environment-related policies could affect your life along with some information to help inform your vote.
The following is not part of the article, but if you know someone who does not plan to vote for Kamala Harris because her climate policies arent strong enough, pass it along: