When Kamala Harris ran for president in 2019, she repeatedly warned oil companies they should be prepared to face hefty fines and even criminal prosecution under a future Harris administration for their role in contributing to climate change.
Now, as the Democratic nominee, Harris is highlighting the country’s record oil and gas production. She rarely talks about climate change, and, despite having been a vigorous supporter of the Green New Deal, her campaign’s website is light on climate policy details.
It’s a stark shift that illustrates the delicate politics of energy — but also how Harris has abandoned a number of progressive positions she held before joining Joe Biden’s ticket in 2020.
As a presidential candidate in 2019, Harris pledged to eliminate the filibuster in order to pass a Green New Deal, with strict deadlines for reducing fossil fuel use. She also signed a pledge to hold all future energy projects accountable to a “climate test” and promised to cancel two pipeline construction projects opposed by environmental activists. She pledged to ban fracking and signed on to niche environmental proposals such as banning plastic straws. And she ran numerous ads on Facebook touting her plans to “take on” the oil lobby and pass a Green New Deal.
“You should be really prepared to look at a serious fine or be charged with a crime,” Harris said in November 2019 when a South Carolina town hall attendee asked whether she would investigate companies such as Chevron and Shell for their role in contributing to climate change.
Harris went on to compare the actions of major oil companies to Big Tobacco, accusing them of knowingly profiting from environmental damage while concealing the harm caused by their products.
“And, not unlike the tobacco companies, after years — ’cause they’d done the research — they knew the harm that their product was causing. They were making so much money that they kept that secret — same thing with these big oil companies. And they need to pay the price,” she said. “So yes is the answer.”
Harris made a similar promise when speaking with the liberal Mother Jones magazine a month earlier, saying, “Let’s get them not only in the pocketbook, but let’s make sure there are severe and serious penalties for their behaviors.”
Harris’s shift on energy and climate began after joining the Biden ticket in August 2020 as the vice presidential pick. That year, she reversed her position on wanting to ban fracking, something she’d staked out in a 2019 CNN town hall.
In August of this year, a few weeks after Biden ended his bid for reelection, the Harris campaign said she no longer supports the Green New Deal. She says that she would not ban fracking and that she no longer wants to ban plastic straws.
In a local interview last month in Pennsylvania, Harris once again was forced to defend her record on wanting to ban fracking when asked about a Republican ad that highlighted her past comments.
“So let me start by saying that that ad as you described it is absolutely a mischaracterization, which I think is intended to make people afraid,” Harris replied. “I will not ban fracking. I did not as vice president.”
Record US oil production
Campaigning in Philadelphia last month, Harris pointed to the Biden administration’s record on increasing domestic oil production, telling voters, “We have had the largest increase in domestic oil production in history because of an approach that recognizes that we cannot over rely on foreign oil.”
The US energy industry is currently producing more oil than any country in history, though energy advocacy groups have said the surge is driven by market forces, not Biden’s policies.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has imposed regulatory fines on oil companies for environmental violations, including a $241.5 million settlement with Marathon Oil and a $40 million settlement with BP for air pollution charges. The actions target specific issues, such as methane emissions, but were driven more by regulatory enforcement than by the sweeping prosecutions Harris once proposed
At the same time, climate change is not a top priority for many voters. According to Gallup, only 50% of voters view climate change as “extremely” or “very important” to their vote, making it one of the least prioritized issues in this election cycle.
Mia Ehrenberg, a Harris campaign spokesperson, highlighted the Democratic presidential nominee’s support addressing for climate change and while also praising American energy production hitting record levels.
“As president, Kamala Harris will be pragmatic to address the threat of climate change and ensure America does not forfeit the clean energy economy and industries of the future. She is proud to have been the tie-breaking vote on the largest climate action in American history, while seeing American energy production of all kinds hit record levels. As Attorney General of California, she took on polluters to protect our environment and will do the same as president.”
A climate hawk
Archived material from Harris’s 2020 campaign found more than a dozen mentions of prosecuting Big Oil either for pollution or climate change. Citing climate change as an urgent threat, Harris said aggressive action was imminently needed.
In one November 2019 campaign event in Iowa, Harris blamed the fossil fuel industry for the climate crisis, comparing it to Big Tobacco companies’ history of pushing misinformation despite knowing the harm they were causing.
“They had done the studies and they knew of the harm that their product was creating, but they still pushed their product ’cause they were making a ton of money. That’s the same thing with Big Oil. They’ve known for a long time what they’ve been doing that is destroying this God-given planet,” she said.
At times, Harris highlighted her track record as California’s attorney general, pointing to legal actions she claims she took against oil companies.
During a CNN town hall on climate change in 2019, asked whether she would sue ExxonMobil, Harris responded, “I have sued ExxonMobil.”
However, this claim was incorrect. While Harris did initiate an investigation into ExxonMobil for allegedly misleading the public and shareholders about the risks of climate change, she never filed a lawsuit against the company.
As her campaign clarified to CNN, Harris’ legal action during her tenure as California attorney general did result in settlements with other oil companies.
For example, she secured a $14 million settlement from BP and Atlantic Richfield Company and an $11.5 million settlement with Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips over violations related to underground fuel tanks. But a lawsuit against ExxonMobil was never filed, and her successor did not pursue one after she left office to join the Senate in 2017.
