In the 2020 presidential election, climate activists demanded that Democratic candidates explain, in detail, how they planned to tackle the planet’s greatest environmental threat.
But in the weeks since Vice President Kamala Harris ascended the 2024 Democratic ticket, she has mentioned climate change only in passing, and offered no specifics on how she would curb dangerous levels of warming.
Climate leaders say they are fine with that.
“I am not concerned,” said Jay Inslee, the Democratic governor of Washington, who made climate change the centerpiece of his own 2019 bid for the presidency.
Mr. Inslee said he believes it is more important for Ms. Harris to draw a distinction between her and her Republican rival, former President Donald J. Trump, than to drill down on policy nitty-gritty.
As Ms. Harris prepares to address the nation on Thursday at the Democratic National Convention, she faces the challenge of energizing party loyalists while also reaching out to disaffected Republicans and moderate voters.
So far Ms. Harris and her running mate Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, have embraced a pragmatic agenda, calling for things like a minimum-wage increase and child-care funding.
While President Biden has made climate change a signature issue, signing into law the largest clean energy investments in American history, Ms. Harris has yet to detail for voters her climate or clean-energy positions.
Climate activists demanded that Democratic candidates in the 2020 presidential election provide a detailed plan outlining how they would address the biggest environmental threat facing the planet.
However, in the weeks since joining the Democratic field for 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris has only made passing references to climate change and has not provided any details on how she would stop the planet from warming dangerously. Leaders in the climate say that’s okay.
The Democratic governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, who made climate change the focal point of his own 2019 presidential campaign, responded, “I am not concerned.”. It is more crucial, in Mr. Inslee’s opinion, for Ms. Harris to set herself apart from her Republican opponent, former President Donald J. Trump, than to delve into the specifics of policy.
“I have complete faith that she will make positive changes when she is able to,” said Gov. said Inslee.
It will be difficult for Ms. Harris to inspire party faithful while simultaneously appealing to moderate and disgruntled Republicans as she gets ready to speak to the nation on Thursday at the Democratic National Convention. To date, Ms. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have adopted a practical platform, advocating for measures such as raising the minimum wage and providing funding for child care.
While President Biden has made clean energy and climate change his signature issues, he has also signed into law the largest clean energy investments in American history. Meanwhile, Ms. Harris has not yet provided voters with a breakdown of her positions on these issues. Certain analysts dismissed that as mere strategy, stating that fresh pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or limit the use of fossil fuels might polarize voters, especially in Pennsylvania, a swing state with a large energy industry.
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