What a Biden-Harris administration might mean for climate accountability
What a Biden-Harris administration might mean for climate accountability
The Democratic nominees could put new cards on the table in the fight to make polluters pay.
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If you haven’t heard, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are now the Democratic Party’s official nominees for president and vice president; everyone is happy for Maya Rudolph. But this newsletter is about the fight to hold Big Oil accountable for the ongoing climate crisis, which was made all the more urgent this week as California communities suffered multiple wildfires and the hottest temperatures ever recorded on Earth. So now it’s time to start asking: what could a Biden-Harris administration do for the cause?
Credit: Giphy
Here’s what we’ve picked up on so far:
On the debate stage and in his climate plan, Biden has pledged to support communities seeking to hold polluters accountable.
During a February debate in Las Vegas, Biden connected lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry for the consequences of their deception on climate change to similar litigation against Big Pharma and Big Tobacco, and said “we should be able to sue” the oil and gas industry for lying about the damages their products would cause.
In the comprehensive climate plan his campaign released last month, Biden pledged to create an Environmental and Climate Justice Division within the Department of Justice, which he will instruct to “strategically support ongoing plaintiff-driven climate litigation against polluters.” That would presumably include the almost 20 state, city, and county governments that have taken Exxon and other Big Oil groups to court in recent years for knowingly causing climate damages that are costing these governments billions. Analysts have said a Biden DOJ could provide support for these cases in a few ways: they could start a federal investigation into Big Oil’s history of deception, file friend-of-the-court (amicus) briefs backing the suits, or veto policies that would offer blanket immunity to the industry.
Legal experts say that kind of support would likely encourage more communities to take on corporate goliaths, and would bolster existing cases by emphasizing to the courts that these lawsuits don’t interfere with federal policymaking or play any kind of legislative role (as the industry has tried to argue, time and again).
“This is perhaps an opportunity for the federal government to side with the people that the federal government serves instead of industry,” Ama R. Francis, a fellow at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, told Bloomberg Law.
A Vice President Harris could bring new momentum and resources to the fight for climate justice.
During her primary run, Harris told Mother Jones that “everyone that was part of misinforming the public, misleading the public, and false advertising [about climate change] should be held accountable” by the next president. “Let’s get them not only in the pocket book, but let’s make sure there are severe and serious penalties for their behaviors.”
Last year, Harris formally endorsed a climate liability lawsuit filed by her hometown, joining other senators in filing an amicus brief supporting San Francisco and Oakland in their case against BP, Chevron, Exxon and Shell.
As California’s Attorney General, Harris made clear that major polluters weren’t above the law: she sued ConocoPhillips, Phillips66, Southern California Gas Co. and others for environmental violations, and opposed Chevron’s proposed expansion of an oil refinery in Richmond with a legacy of devastating pollution in Black and Hispanic communities. In 2016, her staff joined a coalition of 17 Democratic AGs — AGs United For Clean Power — who pledged to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for the climate crisis. While in office, she led an investigation against Exxon — though she did not actually sue the company, as she claimed to during a primary debate.
Harris has also spoken out in support of climate litigation and legislative action against polluters, especially in environmental justice communities. Just this month, Harris introduced two EJ bills: the Climate Equity Act with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, which would assess the impact of bills and regulations on frontline communities, and the Environmental Justice for All Act with Senators Cory Booker and Tammy Duckworth, to reverse a Supreme Court decision that made it more difficult for Black communities to bring civil rights lawsuits against polluters. She has also supported eliminating the filibuster to pass a Green New Deal.
All in all, the election could be a game changer for climate accountability.
Even if a Biden-Harris administration didn’t take aggressive action on accountability, just letting climate lawsuits proceed without federal obstruction would represent a sea change.
After taking buckets of money from the oil and gas industry in campaign donations, the Trump administration has done everything in its power to protect polluters — from subsidies to regulatory rollbacks to a DOJ that interferes on behalf of industry in climate litigation and against the public interest.
And if ad spending is any indication, Big Oil is scared shitless about what the outcome of this election could mean for them.
Of course, the industry essentially wrote the political status quo on climate change — and resistance to change still comes from all sides. Just this week, the DNC went back on its platform promise to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies — a promise Joe Biden campaigned on, and that, amid pressure from journalists and climate advocates, his staff say he remains committed to. That’s a good sign, but there is no question that, if elected, the pair will need to be held to their word and pushed further in office. But that’s what we’re here for, right?
ICYMI News Roundup
A new investigation from The Guardian details how the gas industry is waging war on climate action.
ConocoPhillips wants to freeze melting permafrost… in order to drill more oil.
Facebook refuses to set a hard line when it comes to checking misinformation about climate change.
The Trump administration rolled back more methane regulations on oil and gas plants this week.
Until next week!