TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Pete Maysmith, Senior Vice President of Campaigns, LCVVF
RE: Climate Change at the DNC
DATE: August 27, 2024

Last week at the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Harris and other climate champs again demonstrated that tackling the climate crisis, standing up to Big Oil, ensuring access to clean air and water, and supporting clean energy initiatives are both good policy and good politics. Leaders like Rep. Maxwell Frost, Secretary Deb Haaland, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, President Obama, President Biden, Governor Walz and Vice President Harris all discussed climate action. This is a proven winning playbook. It is the same messaging from the climate community that ensured that climate and clean energy provisions remained central to the Inflation Reduction Act in the lead up to the passage of that historic piece of climate legislation. It was also how electoral groups like LCV Victory Fund effectively talked about these issues in the 2022 midterms. 

Throughout Vice President Harris’ career, she has consistently shown up for the environment from supporting environmental justice, being an early supporter of clean electric buses and even suing Big Oil companies and winning as Attorney General in California. Her record speaks for itself, which is why she had a 90% on the LCV scorecard while in the Senate. Just last week at the DNC–in a panel that did not receive enough attention–Harris’s Senior Advisor on climate shared initial guidance on her climate platform stating she “plans to prioritize the build out of a clean energy economy, reducing emissions, protecting public health, ensuring energy security, as well as ‘holding polluters accountable.’” Heading into the final 69 days of the election, Vice President Harris understands that a clean energy economy is good not only for the environment, but also good for our families and communities. 

Clean energy: A solution to climate change

As we laid out in the lead-up to the convention, voters are understandably focused on kitchen table issues like everyday costs including  groceries and utilities. The clean energy plans already in place by  the Biden-Harris administration provide solutions that help to lower costs for families, while at the same time addressing the climate crisis. Recent polling has shown that people care about clean energy with 63 percent of registered voters saying that developing sources of clean energy should be a priority.

The great news is that we have a good story to tell. 

We are starting to see the benefits of shifting to a clean energy economy. The work to date has already created over 300,000 high-paying, family sustaining jobs for families across the country–many of which do not require four year college degrees– started to cut utility costs and is beginning to deliver cleaner air and water to communities. The case for more climate action as an economic driver could not be clearer. The first wave of our new $55 million partnership ads in battleground states brings this argument to life in compelling ways. 

Of course with extreme weather conditions surging across the nation, with heatwaves, wildfires, hurricanes and floods, people across the country are also feeling the very real impacts of the climate crisis and are viewing climate change itself as a kitchen table issue. Earlier this summer, LCV Victory Fund launched a $14.5 million field program, with several state affiliates and partners including labor, investing in field organizing programs to knock on at least 1.4 million doors in states including Arizona, North Carolina, Montana, and Ohio. In our conversations with people at the door, we are hearing that they are concerned about the extreme weather conditions they experienced this summer and the rise in costs. They know that this weather is not normal and are eager for solutions like clean energy that will protect their families, communities and planet. Given the success of the canvasses to date, we will soon be expanding our field program into more battleground states. 

Catering to fossil fuels is bad policy and bad politics

Despite the fact that families across the country are benefiting from clean energy initiatives, the Trump-Vance ticket has made it clear that they intend to roll back environmental protections and will continue to line the pockets of Big Oil at the expense of the average consumer. Data shows that the Inflation Reduction Act has had some of the largest impacts on red districts nationwide, even though their elected officials opposed the legislation–putting the economic reality in direct conflict with Trump’s climate policies, including the right-wing agenda Project 2025. Notably, Project 2025 outlines clear plans to rollback renewable energy–including repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act–remove energy efficiency standards for household appliances and eliminate tax credits for hardworking families while increasing fossil fuel production. Trump has been explicit as he has continued to cozy up to Big Oil–suggesting they spend $1 billion to help him get elected and aiming to give them massive tax breaks while putting their power-hungry agenda ahead of the health and safety of our families and communities. With Trump’s plans to wipe out the clean energy economy, the Trump-Vance platform would lead to thousands of workers being laid off, higher energy bills, and more pollution in our air and water. This raises serious questions for down ballot candidates seeking to align themselves with Trump. Despite incredulous denials, the extremely unpopular Project 2025 platform–including it’s draconian cuts to climate, clean energy and environmental protection programs–is inextricably linked with Trump, who was already claiming he’d be a “dictator on day one” to “drill baby drill” even before Project 2025 was in the spotlight. Some Congressional Republicans are attempting to soften their stances against clean energy programs (even as they’ve voted against them), but their reassurances ring hollow when the top of the ticket is calling to end popular, job-creating and cost-saving programs on Day One. 

Climate’s night at the DNC

During prime time on the final night of the DNC, climate took center stage with multiple videos along with key speeches from the U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Representative Maxwell Frost, and content creator John Russell who discussed the importance of access to clean air and water, ensuring our communities are healthy, and how addressing climate change is an immediate issue–the most attention climate and clean energy have received at any major party political convention ever. Rep. Frost specifically outlined how tackling climate change with a clean energy economy helps to create family sustaining jobs while also looking out for the health and safety of our communities. The speakers touted Harris’s record of addressing the climate crisis and emphasized her role in implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, while criticizing Trump for calling climate change a “hoax” and not taking the climate crisis seriously despite the immediate threat. 

During Vice President Harris’ acceptance speech, she discussed the climate crisis through her core theme of freedoms stating: “freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water, and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis.” Vice President Harris has shown up time and time again throughout her career to combat the climate crisis by standing up to Big Polluters, supporting clean energy legislation and advocating for environmental justice initiatives. The choice is clear this November– Trump is a power hungry felon who is determined to feed corporate greed by cosigning Big Oil’s wish list and implementing Project 2025. 

A look ahead

As we head into Labor Day and the true final stretch of this election cycle, look for more announcements coming from LCV Victory Fund to add field programs, advertising, and other innovative approaches to reach voters in not only the Presidential election, but the House and Senate as well. 

Paid for by LCV Victory Fund, www.lcvvictoryfund.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.