US ELECTIONS FACTBOX: Harris VP candidates bring varied energy policy appeal

As US Vice President Kamala Harris stakes her claim as the presumed front-runner to be the Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential race, Washington insiders see her as strongly aligned with President Joe Biden on energy and climate issues, with a history of more progressive positions that present some wild cards for policymaking.

Harris has been a central figure in historic climate and energy policy legislation, having cast the tie-breaking Senate vote for the Inflation Reduction Act and appearing at numerous energy project groundbreakings across the country made possible by the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Her presidency would be expected to keep up the momentum on fighting climate change and advocating as a global leader in transitioning away from fossil fuels. Clean energy technologies like offshore wind and electric vehicles would continue to have the backing of the federal government, in stark contrast to former President Donald Trump's plans.

Her choice of running mate could prove an important political decision as Democrats look to balance these dynamics to take on Trump in November. Several names have already been mentioned, including:

Andy Beshear – Governor, Kentucky

• In October 2021, Beshear debuted the Kentucky E3 strategy, an energy policy he said was "energy strategy wrapped in economic development and focused on resilience." Without citing climate change, the effort called on Kentucky stakeholders to prepare themselves and the state’s workforce for the effects of a diversified energy transition.
• In 2021, Beshear announced BlueOvalSK Battery Park, a $5.8 billion plan for two EV battery plants in Glendale, Ky. in partnership between SK On and Ford Motor Company. In 2023, Ford paused construction on a second plant, citing lower than expected EV demand.
• Beshear’s "Better Kentucky Plan" – which argues "electric vehicles are the way of the future" – said the administration’s goal is to put Kentucky "at the center of the (EV) revolution" and become the "EV battery production capitol of the United States."
• Beshear has also touted his administration’s use of $69.5 million from the Biden administration’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program to install EV charging stations on designated "Alternative Fuel Corridors."
• In 2024, Beshear vetoed legislation promoting nuclear energy in Kentucky. He said he supports an "all of the above" energy policy and insisted his objection was that the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority would be staffed by private sector groups unanswerable to the governor or other lawmakers.

Pete Buttigieg – Secretary, US Department of Transportation

• The youngest member of Biden's cabinet and the youngest transportation secretary in US history, Buttigieg is one of the most high-profile officials implementing the administration's energy policies.
• As a 2020 presidential candidate, he proposed a $1.5 trillion climate plan designed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, which included a carbon tax and the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies.
• Most recently, the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued its finalized new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards designed to work in tandem with the EPA's tailpipe emissions rule in reducing emissions from US ground transportation. The standard will increase fuel economy requirements 2% per year for model years 2027-2031, increasing minimum fuel economy for passenger vehicles and light trucks to approximately 50.4 miles per gallon by 2031.
• While the administration's EV push has garnered praise from the auto industry, Republican and fuel industry critics have decried them as a de facto "EV mandate" that reduces consumer choice.

Roy Cooper – Governor, North Carolina

• In 2022, Cooper issued an executive order to cut statewide GHG emissions 50% from 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The order also set a goal of getting 1.25 million zero-emissions cars on state roads by 2030.
• The governor has also worked to bring EV manufacturing investments to the state, including an EV battery facility being built by Toyota and an EV plant being built by Vietnamese company VinFast.
• Cooper has opposed oil and gas drilling off the North Carolina coast, and he has called for developing 2.8 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 and 8 GW by 2040. He joined with the governors of Maryland and Virginia to create a three-state partnership to promote wind energy.
• In 2023, Cooper vetoed a bill to allow nuclear power to count as clean energy, saying the bill was an attempt to play favorites with generation sources. Lawmakers in the state – which is home to three nuclear plants – later overrode the veto.
• Cooper opposed the 73-mile, 375-MMcf/d MVP Southgate gas pipeline project, which will extend the Mountain Valley Pipeline from Virginia into North Carolina. He told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that the project is not needed because state laws will reduce gas demand, but FERC still gave the project a three-year extension to complete the project.

Mark Kelly – US Senator, Arizona

• Kelly is a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and has embraced an all-of-the-above approach to energy. He supports increased production of US fossil fuels to bolster national security and reduce carbon emissions compared to fossil fuels produced elsewhere.
• In 2022, Kelly pressed a senior executive from Shell about increasing US oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Also in 2022, Kelly co-wrote a letter with Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia, urging Biden to issue a five-year leasing plan for the Gulf of Mexico. However, Biden's 2023 plan ended up having the fewest leases in history.
• Kelly is also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and he has supported imposing energy-related sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• Along with Manchin and Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican-Alaska, Kelly in 2022 introduced a bill to ban the import of Russian oil, gas and coal. Biden subsequently took executive action to ban Russian energy imports to the US.

Josh Shapiro – Governor, Pennsylvania

• Shapiro drew national attention for the accelerated repair of a damaged section of Interstate 95 near Philadelphia, a potential months-long infrastructure project the state finished in just 12 days.
• In March 2024, Shapiro unveiled an energy policy he said would "protect and create nearly 15,000 energy jobs, lower utility bills for Pennsylvania households, and take real action to address carbon pollution."
• The Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act called for the creation of a Pennsylvania-specific "cap and invest" program that would allow the state to determine its own greenhouse gas emissions cap and send 70% of the proceeds from companies who exceed it to consumers as energy bill rebates.
• Shapiro's second energy initiative, the Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard, called for the state to update its mix of power sources and increase wind, solar, and other kinds of renewable energy to 35% of all power consumption by 2035. Shapiro has also touted the state's development of hydrogen hubs and nuclear power while celebrating its history of fossil fuel production.
• Shapiro broke with the Biden administration in criticizing its pause on LNG export permits, telling reporters the pause "needs to be brief." Pennsylvania produces more natural gas than every US state but Texas.