Climate activists rally around Harris, seeing a chance to build on Biden’s record

Endorsements for Vice President Harris are rolling in from environmental groups who see her as a strong potential ally on issues like climate change.

Climate advocates have highlighted Harris’ record stretching back two decades to her time as San Francisco district attorney, saying she’s worked throughout her career to protect the environment, as well as communities that suffer disproportionately from pollution.

“She’s totally legit,” Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a climate activist and marine biologist, said at a recent online fundraiser. “She’s not new to this.”

Activists say they’ve seen a surge of enthusiasm among their members, especially young people, since Harris replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.

“It’s night and day,” says Stevie O’Hanlon, a spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate group. “I think it’s clear to me talking to young people around the country that there’s a really big opportunity to totally change the game with the youth vote this November.”

Early surveys show a close race between Harris and former President Donald Trump, with Harris winning back younger, nonwhite voters who were dissatisfied with Biden. But she’s not currently matching Biden's 2020 support among all voters below 45.

Harris’ campaign is barely three weeks old, and hasn’t yet come out with detailed policy proposals. On climate change, campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt says Harris would build on the Biden administration’s record. That includes the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate law Biden signed in 2022 that provides hundreds of billions of dollars in funding and tax incentives to help companies and communities transition to renewable energy and other technologies that can cut fossil fuel