How Could the 2024 US Election Impact Sustainability?
The United States is the world’s second biggest polluter, responsible for around 12% of global emissions.
The country has emitted more carbon dioxide than any other, accounting for nearly 25% of historical emissions since 1751.
The United States government has set the goal of reaching net zero emissions across the economy no later than 2050, but the United Nations has warned the world is off track to achieve this.
At the opening of the 79th session of the General Assembly, UN Secretary General António Guterres said: “2024 is the year that half of humanity goes to the polls – and all of humanity will be affected.
“I stand before you in this whirlwind convinced of two overriding truths.
“First, the state of our world is unsustainable. We can’t go on like this.
“And second, the challenges we face are solvable. But that requires us to make sure the mechanisms of international problem-solving actually solve problems.”
How do business leaders see sustainability in the US election?
PwC’s October 2024 Pulse survey of 709 US executives found that 55% say their company would invest more in sustainability under Harris, and just 46% would invest more under Trump.
In fact, a Trump presidency would lead 11% of those surveyed to decrease sustainability investments compared to 4% under Harris.
PwC says more than 60% see climate change as a risk, but executives expect higher taxes and climate policy to also pose policy risks under Harris.
However, this election may not be the biggest risk to American business.
A majority of executives ranked state governments, federal regulatory agencies, local governments and congress ahead of the president as entities that affect their company most.
David Carlin, Head of Risk at the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), says: “The US election will be a decisive moment for climate action in America and globally.
“The candidates' policies, plans and even beliefs on climate change are worlds apart.”
The Republican Party’s plan for ESG
At a campaign event in Erie, Pennsylvania, Trump called the climate crisis “one of the greatest scams of all time”.
The 2024 Republican Party Platform says “we will DRILL, BABY, DRILL and we will become Energy Independent” through ending restrictions on oil, natural gas and coal.
The platform document also says it aims to make the US “the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world” by “terminating the Socialist Green New Deal”.
The party aims to move manufacturing to the country through supporting tariffs on foreign-made goods.
In June 2017, during Trump’s term as president, he announced that the US was to cease all participation in the Paris Agreement as it put the country “at a permanent disadvantage”.
In January 2021 Biden signed the instrument to bring the country back into the agreement, but the Republican party told Politico that, if elected, Trump will remove the country again.
At the COP16 summit in Cali, Colombia, the UN Secretary General told the Guardian: “It’s very important that the United States remain in the Paris Agreement, and more than remain in the Paris Agreement, that the United States adopts the kind of policies that are necessary to make the 1.5 degrees still a realistic objective.”
The Democratic Party’s plan for ESG
At the Democratic Convention in August 2024, Harris said Americans should be able to “live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis”.
The 2024 Democratic Party Platform says it is “fighting climate change, reducing pollution and fuelling a clean energy boom”.
The platform document also says: “As Democrats, we believe the United States has an indispensable role to play in solving the climate crisis, and we have an obligation to help other nations carry out this work.”
Harris has a history of supporting environmental policies, casting the tie-breaking vote as Vice President for the Inflation Reduction Act to be passed in 2022.
The Act provides funding for renewable energy and green technologies in the United States.
The party says it is committed to supporting tribal nations and communities of colour, and defending LGBTQI+ rights.
However, it is not all solar panels and microgrids – fracking has been a point of contention on the Democratic campaign.
In 2019, Harris said that she wants a ban on fracking. When joining the Biden ticket in 2020, she repealed this.
In October 2024, she told KDKA: “I will not ban fracking. I did not as vice president. In fact, I cast the tie-breaking vote to open up more fracking leases”.
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