The presidential elections in the United States are in their final stages. Ahead of Election Day on November 5, Engadget looks at where candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump stand on today’s most important tech issues.
While the environment and climate change are standard fare for elections, the 2024 campaign has surprisingly focused on EVs. Cars and trucks are some of the biggest contributors to global warming, spewing millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year. So it’s no surprise that many believe that switching from traditional combustion engine cars to electric ones will be key to combating climate change. Of course, an electric car is only as clean as the energy used to charge its batteries, which is why the Biden administration has pushed hard to expand clean energy initiatives in the United States. Kamala Harris is expected to continue Biden’s work promoting EV adoption and clean energy technology. Donald Trump, unsurprisingly, ran on a promise to repeal it all.
Kamala Harris
On the campaign trail, Harris did not announce any new major policy initiatives related to EVs or clean energy. For the most part, his comments on the issue have been broad, but he tries to build on what has already been done by the Biden administration. between Infrastructure Investments and Labor Law and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the government invested hundreds of billions of dollars in charging stations, EV tax credits, EV manufacturing, and wind and solar power.
Earlier in his career, as a California senator and 2020 presidential candidate, Harris took a particularly aggressive stance on EVs and clean energy, making them a central part of his political identity. He was supportive The Green New Deal and was the sponsor of the organization Zero Emission Vehicles Act of 2019it required all passenger cars sold in the United States to be zero-emission by 2040.
Harris has since rejected many of these stronger proposals, but remains a staunch supporter of using federal resources to build EV and clean energy infrastructure. He was the breaking voice for the IRA, which included directives to cut carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and included $370 billion in wind, solar, battery and EV production. Most of the IRA’s $1.1 trillion in cash remains unspent, but the administration has stepped up efforts to use the funds ahead of the election.
That money used to expand charging station infrastructure, begin transition to USPS electrical delivery vehicles and increasing the amount of electricity generated by wind and solar. Through investments and tax breaks, IRA funds have been used to encourage companies to manufacture more electric vehicles, solar panels, batteries and related components in the United States. This includes $100 million announced in May for small and medium-sized auto companies to upgrade their factories for EV production. Harris and Biden also talked about the fact that the IRA created 170,000 clean energy jobs in just one year. The administration also placed hard tariffs In EVs (100 percent) and solar cells (50 percent) imported from China.
Another key component of the legislation is consumption tax credits for the purchase of electric heat pumps, rooftop solar, batteries and EVs. The EV tax credit also comes with specific vehicle eligibility requirements to encourage US manufacturing in the supply chain. Buyers can claim the loan only if the car is assembled in the United States and has a certain percentage battery components Built in North America and min mined minerals Recycled in the United States or a country with a free trade agreement or in North America. And each year these requirements increase, eventually reaching 100 percent of battery components in 2029 and 80 percent of critical minerals in 2027.
Donald Trump
It may sound simple, but Trump’s policies on EVs and clean energy can largely be attributed to lifting regulations and “drill, baby, drill.” The former president has repeatedly said he would repeal nearly all of the Biden administration’s regulations on emissions, fuel standards and the environment. He also suggested that he could get rid of it EV tax creditwhich one tried and failed in his first term, arguing that it unfairly affected the market, primarily benefiting the rich and increasing our dependence on China. Given the price cap of suitable vehicles and the requirements for purchasing components and minerals, this argument seems shaky. After securing Elon Musk’s endorsement, Trump has softened some of his anti-EV rhetoric. However, he has not been given any indication that he is backing down from any position.
Trump also said he would do it cancel immediately new fuel efficiency and emissions standards set by the Biden administration. He argued that the efficiency requirements are simply impossible for gasoline-powered vehicles to meet and effectively create a mandate that 67 percent of U.S. vehicle sales be EVs by 2032.
Trump has become even more hostile to clean energy initiatives. Neither his platform nor The official platform of the Republican Party the document usually mentions solar energy. Wind energy is only mentioned on Trump’s website to mock the Biden administration.crazy wind subsidies” and generally considers windmills dangerous and ineffective. A major part of the Trump campaign’s energy policy is focused on expanding oil and natural gas drilling and investing in nuclear power plants. But he’s unlikely to try to end all of the IRA’s clean energy and EV initiatives, since they often lead to job creation in red states.
In general, Donald Trump is skeptical of climate change and efforts to limit human impact on the environment. He has pledged to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement (again) and has called for hundreds of new power plants, including coal, hydro and nuclear, but wind and solar farms are conspicuously absent from his plan for American energy independence.
