Climate change has become an important political issue, and one that is top-of-mind for some voters in the upcoming presidential election. Yet, neither former President Donald Trump nor Vice President Kamala Harris have released plans to address climate change related issues.
The Climate Clock reads four years, 307 days and some odd minutes until the “carbon budget” is depleted and global warming will cause devastating damage. The Climate Clock is based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports about greenhouse gas emissions and keeping global warming under 1.5 C.
That number is the globally-recognized result of decades of evolving climate research, which show that even global warming of 1.5 C over decades will present extreme threats to ecosystems. 194 states and the European Union agreed to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels in the 2015 Paris Agreement. It is important to note that this number is not a magic switch, the existing amount of greenhouse gas emissions will cause damage, but it sets a goal for minimizing that harm now.
The U.S. officially rejoined the Paris Agreement in January of 2021 as one of President Biden’s first acts in office after Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2020. The United States’ standing in the agreement could be altered depending on who is elected the 47th president. But that would not matter because if elected, neither candidate will take necessary climate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The reason for that does not necessarily correlate with the candidates’ political parties and viewpoints on the matter. It would be simply impossible to do all the necessary work to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a little less than five years.
For example, Biden, who has made large efforts to combat climate change, is nowhere close to his bold goal of cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, based on 2005 emission levels. In 2023, U.S. emissions are estimated to have declined 1.9% in 2023, according to research from Rhodium Group, which means the U.S. would need major reform over the next five years to meet that goal.
Nonetheless political viewpoints on climate change do play a large role in helping or deterring the U.S. from reducing emissions.
Trump has repeatedly denied the existence and effects of global warming, calling it a “hoax.” Trump is a loud advocate for increasing domestic oil and gas drilling projects. He has also promised to roll back Biden initiatives like electric vehicle adoption incentives and the Inflation Reduction Act — Biden’s largest climate initiative. So, it comes as no surprise that Trump lacks a plan to address climate change.
Harris, on the other hand, has supported Biden’s actions to reduce carbon emissions, yet has not made any major claims about her own plans to tackle the issue. Harris is trying to garner as many votes as possible, and is likely trying to steer away from making any polarizing claims about how she would deal with climate change. Along those lines, Harris said she supports domestic oil and gas production in her debate with Trump.
Therein lies the problem. Climate change is glazed over because the topic is too polarizing. And even if Harris took a firm stance on addressing climate change and was elected president, proposed bills would stall in the divided, Republican-majority House of Representatives and the slim democratic majority in the Senate, which could be overturned with soon, still might not muster enough votes because of how controversial addressing climate-change is.
So, really, neither candidate is expected to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing climate change needs bipartisan support for measures to be successfully and adequately implemented. And further, large corporations need to take more actions to reduce their climate impact because they contribute the most to this problem.
Taylor Henninger is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Tell Taylor by emailing her at th873120@ohio.edu.
