If you watched even part of the four-day Republican National Convention (RNC), you may have noticed that climate change-the most serious threat facing our planet-has not been a topic of conversation. The President has consistently denied the effects of global warming and even ridiculed teenage climate activist (opens in new tab) Greta Thunberg the day after she was named the 2019 Time Person of the Year. Democrats, on the other hand, have a view on climate that is largely opposite (opens in new tab) that of Republicans, and they covered the topic a bit at the Democratic National Convention (DNC).

As for where Vice Presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) stands on the subject, she is a clear supporter (open in new tab) of the Green New Deal (open in new tab). However, her vote, or lack thereof, on a bill introduced in the Senate last year may cause confusion among voters. When the Green New Deal was voted on in the Senate, she declared herself "present" (opens in new tab). Harris is not the only one who has done this. Senators Bernie Sanders (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-MD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MD), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-MD) all sought to express their attitude, knowing the bill would not pass Harris was one of the senators who protested and followed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's ploy to force the Senate to take a stand knowing that the bill would not be passed. Harris stated his reasons in a March 26, 2019 press release I am proud to be a co-sponsor of Senator Markey's Green New Deal resolution," she stated (opens in new tab). "Political stunts won't get us anywhere. To fight this crisis, the Republican majority must first stop denying the science and finally admit that climate change is real and that humanity is the dominant cause. Then we can get serious about addressing the climate crisis on the scale of the problem."

Throughout his political career, Harris has been a major supporter of climate change proposals. Before Harris was officially selected as a vice presidential candidate, he most recently worked with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (14th District, NY) on the Climate Equality Act of 2020 (The Hill (opens in new tab)), which "would require the government to more strongly consider racial and economic inequality in its environmental policies. (This is a pillar of the Green New Deal and part of Biden's overall climate change plan. See below for more details). In addition, Harris' original climate action plan as a 2020 presidential candidate included holding polluters accountable for their actions and "committing a combined $10 trillion in public and private funding to meet the initial 10-year mobilization needed to halt the worst impacts of climate change." (For more information, click here (opens in new tab).

So what is the situation today? With his election, Harris has the opportunity to make Biden's climate action plan (opens in new tab) even stronger. Both candidates support the Green New Deal and agree on the dire need for environmental justice (opens in new tab). Biden believes that the Green New Deal is an important framework for addressing the climate change challenges we face. (1) that the United States urgently needs to embrace greater ambition on a grand scale to address the scope of the challenge; (2) that the environment and the economy are fully and completely interconnected; and (3) that the United States must be willing to take action to address the challenges of climate change.

Currently, Biden's $2 trillion climate action plan includes ensuring that the U.S. will have a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035. Achieve a 100% clean energy economy and net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest; require Congress to enact climate change legislation in the President's first year in office; join the Paris Agreement on climate change from day one; maintain and enforce existing clean air laws; ensure that cities have access to clean water, invest in climate change research, and ultimately create 10 million additional U.S. jobs to help accomplish all of this. In his plan (opens in new tab), Biden also makes it a priority for all agencies to "work on community-driven approaches to developing solutions to environmental injustices (opens in new tab) that affect people of color, low-income, and indigenous communities." Commitment.

After watching the video above, you can read Biden's latest full climate change plan here (opens in new tab).