Democrats Close Convention Week With Climate Focus

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the final night of the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris and leaders across the party talked about the climate stakes of this election and made it clear that Harris will continue our forward progress. Kamala Harris has spent her career fighting for clean air and water and taking on corporate polluters — including securing over $50 million for taxpayers in settlements from Big Oil. She’s ready to tackle the climate crisis head on and invest in a bright, clean energy future. 

“Tonight at the DNC, the stakes for climate in the 2024 election took center stage,” said Lori Lodes, Executive Director of Climate Power. “Democrats have taken bold action to meet the urgency of this moment – and Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote to triple clean energy production, reduce costs for families,  and revitalize communities across the country. From now until Election Day, we must make sure every American understands how climate action directly benefits their communities and how Trump’s Project 2025 agenda will make them less safe and jack up their energy costs. Let’s get to work.”

What Democratic National Convention speakers had to say about Vice President Harris’ commitment to the future of clean energy and our climate: 

• 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.”
• Rep. Maxwell 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.”
• Rep. 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 Kamala Harris’ climate record played that 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.