What would Trump and Harris do on energy, environment and climate change?

Vice President Harris and former President Trump are offering a stark contrast for voters when it comes to policies on fighting climate change, developing energy and protecting the environment. 

Trump during his first term pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accords, has downplayed the dangers and even existence of climate change and is promising to open up more lands for drilling. 

He has also voiced skepticism about electric vehicles (EVs), suggesting that government incentives for EVs could dry up in a second Trump term. 

Harris says that climate change is a crisis and as part of the Biden administration advanced the most significant legislation in history to tackle global warming. As president, she has said she would back a new tax credit for emerging industries including clean energy manufacturing. 

At the same time, Harris has not offered many details about her future plans, and she has moved away from tougher stances she took during her presidential bid in 2019, including a call to ban fracking.

She is expected to at least maintain policies pursued under President Biden.

Trump’s first term

During his time in the Oval Office, Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental rules, including Obama-era climate rules for power plants and cars. He also withdrew the U.S. from the global Paris climate agreement.

In addition, he reduced protections for the nation’s waters, excluded some chemicals from safety reviews and limited safety protections at chemical plants and offshore oil rigs. 

He also sought to expand oil and gas drilling both offshore and on public lands, including in a notable Alaska wildlife refuge, and backed fossil fuel projects including the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines. He resumed new coal production on public lands as well.

In addition, the Trump administration sought to speed up the process of building new energy and infrastructure projects by limiting environmental reviews of them.

His administration also notably saw a number of nominees and appointees with extensive ties to the coal, oil and gas and chemical industries. 

Biden-Harris policies

Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris administration passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a historic piece of climate legislation that included billions of dollars in tax credits for renewable energy.

The law also included programs that seek to put money into climate projects around the nation and put a fee on planet-warming methane emissions from oil and gas production. 

In addition, the administration has strengthened climate rules for power plants, cars and trucks, which could speed the transition away from coal plants and gas-powered cars. 

The administration rejoined the Paris Agreement and set a goal of cutting U.S. emissions at least in half by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. 

The administration also sought to limit offshore drilling and blocked the Keystone XL pipeline. And it has sought temporary pauses on new oil and gas drilling and gas exports, though both were blocked in court. 

Nevertheless, as much oil and gas production on U.S. lands is controlled by private companies regardless of federal policy, the administration has also seen record levels of oil and gas production, which Harris has touted on the campaign trail. 

Biden has also pursued regulations that would require new household appliances to become more efficient and banned new incandescent light bulbs. 

In addition, the Biden administration has sought to reduce drinking water pollution, targeting both lead and a group of persistent and toxic chemicals known as PFAS. 

Trump’s campaign promises

On the campaign trail, Trump has said he would again rescind Biden administration regulations on power plants and electric vehicles, and once again exit the Paris Agreement

In addition, Trump has said he would rescind unspent money from the IRA. 

Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt also told The Hill in an emailed statement that Trump would eliminate at least 10 existing regulations for every new one. 

Leavitt also said rescinded IRA funds would be redirected "to spending on real infrastructure."

“President Trump will rapidly defeat inflation and bring down all prices by ending Kamala Harris’ anti-energy crusade," she said. 

His campaign did not directly respond to a question about whether he would try to repeal all of the law’s tax credits for climate-friendly energy sources, but his campaign website does say he would “immediately stop all Joe Biden policies that distort energy markets,” including “insane wind subsidies.”

Trump told Reuters in August he hadn't decided whether he’d end a consumer tax credit of up to $7,500 for buying an electric vehicle, though his campaign website says Trump “will work to stop the flow of American tax dollars that are subsidizing Chinese electric vehicle battery companies.”

However, Trump has also cozied up to billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk, whom he says will have a role in his administration, and Trump has said he’s “for” electric cars because of Musk’s endorsement. 

Leavitt said that Trump will broadly support the auto industry "allowing space for both gas powered cars AND electric vehicles."

Trump also pledged to reverse Biden’s requirements on household appliances. His website additionally says he would “ban” ESG investments — shorthand for investing in companies that are environmentally and socially conscious — though it’s not clear how such a ban could be enacted. 

The campaign website also says that Trump would support nuclear energy production, including through investments in new small reactors. 

Meanwhile, a conservative think tank called the Heritage Foundation has put together its own policy blueprint for the next Republican administration known as "Project 2025" that calls for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the nation’s oceans, weather, climate and fisheries science agency, to be “dismantled” and for Environmental Protection Agency science policy to be consolidated under political officials, among other things.

Trump has disavowed the project, but it was developed with heavy involvement from former Trump energy and environment officials.

Harris’s campaign promises

In a recently released economic plan, Harris has called for an “America Forward tax credit” to support various industries including reducing emissions from steel and iron production, bolstering clean energy manufacturing and helping the semiconductor industry.

The plan also calls for extra benefits if investments are made in communities that have historically relied on energy production for their economy. 

Her plan additionally calls for “increasing energy production,” though it does not specify what kind. During the vice presidential debate, Harris's running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, said that she backs an “all-of-the-above” energy policy, meaning she supports both fossil and renewable energy. Harris herself has countered Trump’s attacks on the Biden administration’s energy policies by pointing to the record oil production that has occurred under Biden's presidency.

In addition, the Harris campaign has said the candidate would support the creation of a national reserve for “critical” minerals that can be used in technology, including renewable energy. 

Harris has shied away from stances she took when she first ran for president in 2019, saying she no longer supports a ban on fracking, a controversial but widely used oil-extraction technique. 

On the campaign trail, her remarks on energy and the environment have been more rhetoric than policy outline, including her reference to the “freedom to breathe clean air, and drink clean water and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis” in her speech accepting the Democratic nomination.

Spokespeople for the Harris campaign did not respond to questions from The Hill asking for more details about what she would do as president.