ICYMI: Climate Action Featured throughout the DNC
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Washington, D.C. — From investing in clean energy to protecting our clean air and water, climate action was highlighted every single hour – and in primetime – of the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Climate action, investing in clean energy, the freedom to enjoy clean air and water, holding polluters accountable, and other climate-related themes were mentioned 136 times throughout the week, up from only 93 mentions at the 2020 DNC.
Climate Power Communications Director Alex Glass released the following statement:
“Climate action was featured in every hour of the DNC last week. Democrats across the party highlighted Kamala Harris’ climate record and commitment to lowering energy costs, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, and protecting our air and water from corporate polluters. Donald Trump is a climate-denier who would sell our climate progress for $1 billion in contributions from Big Oil. With extreme weather hitting our communities every day, now is the time to protect our planet for future generations. We will not go back to Trump and Big Oil putting their corporate greed ahead of the middle class.”
Climate Featured Prominently in Primetime on the Final Night of the Convention:
- Vice President Kamala Harris: “Many other fundamental freedoms are at stake… The freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water, and to live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis.”
- Secretary Deb Haaland: “While fishing with my Dad and running through the desert with my cousins, I learned that we have a responsibility to take care of our planet. Donald Trump never learned that lesson. He called the climate crisis a ‘hoax’ and made it easier for big companies to poison our air and water. An American president must lead the world in tackling climate change. We need a president who understands tackling that assignment. That’s Kamala Harris. I know her record. She held polluters accountable for spilling oil into the San Francisco Bay. She defended President Obama’s Clean Power Plan in court. And as Vice President, she cast the tie-breaking vote for the most ambitious climate action plan in our nation’s history. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will fight for a future where we all have clean air, clean water, and healthy communities.”
- Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost: “As a Floridian, as a Florida man, I’m here to tell you that the climate crisis isn’t some far-off threat. It is here. Donald Trump and JD Vance think they can divide us by saying this crisis is some type of hoax. But I’ve walked the streets of communities that have been forced to rebuild after hurricane flooding destroyed their homes. I’ve heard the stories of immigrant farmworkers made to work in horrid conditions exacerbated by this crisis. And I felt the scorching record heat… With our movement and with organizing and with an administration that cares, we are making progress. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have proven that tackling this crisis creates jobs, that investing in clean energy protects our health… This election is about every drop of water that we consume and every breath we breathe. Fighting the climate crisis is patriotic… When you love somebody, you want them to have clean air. When you love somebody, you want them to have safe drinking water. And when you love somebody, you want them to have a dignified job. Let’s get to work and elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for our planet, for our future, for our present, and for our people.”
- Senator Elizabeth Warren: “[Kamala Harris] will take on the giant corporations that are squeezing American families. In fact, it’s something she’s done before. During the California wildfires, she went after the price gougers; during the pandemic, we worked together in the Senate to stop price gouging; and as president, she will lower costs for your family.”
- Representative Elissa Slotkin: “We recognize that it’s not just about having a strong military, but about tackling global challenges like AI and climate change together.”
- John Russell: “Trump, a billionaire, says that he’ll take on the elites. But then he promises handouts to Big Oil, and he punches down at anyone with the guts to be different.”
- Ella Emhoff: “She’s fighting for social justice, health justice, environmental justice, and she isn’t alone.”
- A video on extreme weather and Kamala Harris’ climate record that featured a Phoenix light rail worker referenced Climate Power’s most recent clean energy boom report numbers — showing the creation of more than 330,000 new clean energy jobs since the passage of the clean energy plan.
Party leaders highlighted the urgency of the climate crisis and Kamala Harris’ climate record throughout the convention:
- Vice President Kamala Harris
- Governor Tim Walz
- President Joe Biden
- President Barack Obama
- Senator Chuck Schumer
- Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
- Secretary Deb Haaland
- Governor Andy Beshear
- Governor Josh Green
- Governor Kathy Hochul
- Governor Janet Mills
- Governor JB Pritzker
- Governor Josh Shapiro
- Governor Gretchen Whitmer
- Senator Chris Coons
- Senator Dick Durbin
- Senator Alex Padilla
- Senator Bernie Sanders
- Senator Elizabeth Warren
- Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost
- Representative Elissa Slotkin
- Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz
- Lt. Governor Austin Davis
- Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan
- Attorney General Dana Nessel
- County Executive Angela Alsobrooks