Young climate activists favor Harris over Biden, despite his environmental wins
President Biden passed the U.S.’ most significant climate legislation, but leaders of youth climate groups see Kamala Harris as stronger on environmental issues.
President Joe Biden may have passed the United States’ most significant climate legislation ever, but many young environmental activists say they see Kamala Harris as stronger on the issue.
Representatives from 11 organizations devoted to elevating young voters’ concerns about climate change said Harris’ record of going after big oil companies as a prosecutor and her co-sponsorship of the Green New Deal as a senator make her a more appealing candidate than Biden, despite his environmental wins.
“She has a history around holding Big Oil accountable in a way that we haven’t been able to do in the last four years,” said Aru Shiney-Ajay, 26, the executive director of the Sunrise Movement, which pushes for government interventions to address climate change.
The Green New Deal Network, a coalition of 19 progressive environmental and social justice organizations including the Sunrise Movement, endorsed Harris this week but had not previously issued an endorsement for Biden.
The Biden administration’s record on climate issues has been relatively strong: The Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in climate action in U.S. history, allocated nearly $370 billion to environmental efforts. And the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included investments in clean energy, electric vehicle infrastructure, public transit and climate resilience work.
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