According to a recent NBC News poll, the environment is a top issue for young voters in America: 40 percent of voters under 35 said they would vote only for a candidate who prioritizes climate change.

Presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump made their stances clear during the presidential debate. Harris explained her tie-breaking vote to support the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a historic piece of climate legislation. Trump said, “Drill, baby, drill.”

But the issue isn’t just a concern for the executive branch. According to an online survey of Pennsylvania residents, 67 percent of voters believe that clean and renewable energy jobs are important to the state; 71 percent say fossil fuels are important to PA. This is a false dichotomy, according to the Ohio River Valley Institute, a policy think tank focusing on Appalachia, which noted that 57 IRA clean energy projects in Appalachia are expected to create between 3,400 and 9,300 jobs and total tax benefits of $1.25 billion.

The Commonwealth is the country’s second largest gas producing state, third-largest coal-producer, second-largest coal exporter to foreign markets, and, according to the Penn Environment Research & Policy Center, “fourth-largest greenhouse gas-emitting state.”

Where Pennsylvanians fall on the issue could determine the outcome of the races in the state.

Read on to see how the major party candidates stack up on climate issues.

CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Kamala Harris, Democrat

Vice President Kamala Harris has said she believes climate change is “very real” and is a present danger to the United States. But Harris has not specifically outlined her plans for environmental policy to combat climate change. During her time serving in the Biden administration, she cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, the most comprehensive climate policy passed to date in the U.S., allocating 370 billion dollars towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

At a town hall during Harris’s 2019 vice presidential run, she stated, “there’s no question, I am in favor of banning fracking” in order to slow climate change. However, she has now come out in favor of fracking and defends her changed stance as a way to increase American energy production and reduce domestic dependency on the foreign market.

While Harris says her recent decision is for the betterment of the economy and industry (since, she says, we can continue fracking while promoting clean energy), her change in policy has been viewed by some as a politically motivated appeal to PA voters.

Donald Trump, Republican

When former President Trump was in office, the U.S. became the top producer of oil and maintained its global position as the top natural gas producer. Trump has vocalized his support for fracking. As president, he withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement and reversed more than 100 other environment protection policies established during previous administrations. Trump has repeatedly ignored established climate science. In his current campaign, the former president has not explicitly outlined his plan for climate change and has not made environmental policy a priority for his administrative agenda.

U.S. SENATE CANDIDATES ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Bob Casey Jr., Democrat

U.S. Senator Bob Casey views environmental progress through the lens of workers’ rights — stances reflected in his endorsements from The United Mine Workers of America and the League of Conservation Voters. Casey has often referred to his grandfather, who worked in a coal mine as a child to support his family. He has come out in favor of fracking and openly supports natural gas development, citing the economic benefits to PA.

Casey’s pro-environment initiatives include securing federal funding to reduce carbon emissions and building new infrastructure to support electric vehicles. He also secured “tens of millions of dollars” to improve air and water quality in urban areas, clean up brownfield sites, and remove dangerous PFAs from drinking water.

David McCormick, Republican

Dave McCormick calls himself a “conservationist who believes we don’t have to choose between clean energy and economic development.” While working as CEO of Bridgewater hedge fund, McCormick increased investment in Chinese energy technology. Today, the candidate champions fracking as a way to promote economic growth and limit U.S. reliance on foreign energy and Chinese-manufactured cleantech.

McCormick’s campaign aims to combat climate change while keeping the natural gas industry as a major part of the PA and U.S. economy. The candidate supports reducing regulations on the use of fossil fuels and giving more autonomy to energy corporations. He does not deny that climate change is real nor that human activity is a contributing factor.

PA ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDIDATES ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Eugene DePasquale, Democrat

Eugene DePasquale is a former legislator who served two terms as Pennsylvania’s auditor general and as secretary of PA’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). His campaign cites environmental justice among his top priorities.

As deputy secretary of the DEP, DePasquale helped secure the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act.. On his first day as auditor general, he announced an investigation into DEP’s oversight of Marcellus Shale drillers, which found the DEP lacked transparency and effectiveness in holding drillers to account for environmental protections. He also hosted a public hearing for local officials and agricultural advocates to gather input for a special report on the state’s response to climate change, and contends that the warming planet is economically bad for PA. DePasquale has the endorsement of The Sierra Club.

David Sunday, Republican

York County District Attorney David Sunday has not included the environment among his top priorities, should he become attorney general. Sunday has no record speaking about climate change or environmental policies and did not respond to a request to comment on the matter.

PA AUDITOR GENERAL CANDIDATES ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Malcolm Kenyatta, Democrat

State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, serving the 181st District, won the endorsement of Clean Water Action Pennsylvania, which references his 94 percent lifetime environmental voting record and Kenyatta’s promise to ensure federal funds designated for environmental projects are spent legally. None of his current official office platforms, however, mention environmental concerns.

Kenyatta has sponsored two climate-related bills in his time in the State House. The first, introduced in 2023, calls for an environmental impact assessment to be done before issuing a building permit for facilities in “Environmental Justice” areas. (This bill includes a requirement to designate where these areas are.) This year, he introduced a bill to establish a statewide climate emissions reduction program. Both bills are still in committee.

On Earth Day 2020, Kenyatta shared: “Poor folks and people of color have always borne the brunt of the impacts of our inaction. We get this one planet and we better protect it. My 100% environmental voting record ain’t about politics, it’s personal. It’s about the ability of those I love to live and to do so in safe and clean communities.”

Timothy DeFoor, Republican

Auditor General Timothy DeFoor has not made any public efforts in his time in office related to climate change, environmental concerns, or the more local issue of fracking, nor has he publicly addressed prospective environmental initiatives on his public campaign website.

In his personal life, DeFoor says he cares about environmental issues: “I always try to do what I can in order to make sure I’m taking care of the environment … We have to be careful about what we are leaving behind for the next generation.” He believes that environmental issues should be a bipartisan concern.“Bottom line is, and I am a Republican, all you have to do is to pay attention to what is going on. As far as global warming, it’s here and it’s been here for a while.”

PA TREASURER CANDIDATES ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Erin McClelland, Democrat

In an interview with Pittsburgh’s NPR station, Erin McClelland, a longtime addiction counselor who is currently a marketing consultant for the county government, emphasized the importance of Environmental, Sustainability, and Governance (ESG) ratings when evaluating the viability of an investment. Her campaign prospectus reflects her belief in environmentally-driven financial decisions with her campaign running on “Rebuilding the supply chain [through] infusing labor and environmental standards while preventing human rights violations,” as well as praising the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.

Stacy Garrity, Republican

Incumbent PA Treasurer Stacy Garrity has not spoken much on environmental issues, except in in response to the current presidential administration’s actions. A letter addressed to the Biden administration that Garrity and 14 other state treasurers co-signed urged the president to stop “attacking” the fossil fuel industry, saying the industry is crucial to PA’s economy. The letter urges institutions with financial capital to “not give in to pressure from the Biden administration to refuse to lend to or invest in coal, oil, and natural gas companies.” Garrity has received donations from one of PA’s largest gas companies, Range Resources and declined to comment to The Citizen.

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