Climate Advocates Say Harris is ‘Perfect Person' to Prosecute Big Oil
Environmentalists are urging the Department of Justice (DoJ) to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate disinformation, with Kamala Harris as the ideal leader for the effort if elected president.
Over forty U.S. states and municipalities have sued major oil companies for allegedly spreading climate disinformation. Climate advocates and some lawmakers have long argued that the DoJ should file a similar case, which has not happened even under President Joe Biden, who campaigned on a climate-focused platform.
"We sense that [Biden's Attorney General] Merrick Garland has no interest in pursuing this issue," said Richard Wiles, president of the non-profit Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), which supports climate litigation.
Jamie Henn, director of the climate accountability non-profit Fossil Free Media, believes this could change under Harris's leadership. He recently wrote that Harris is the "perfect person" to prosecute the case, calling on her to prioritize climate accountability by empowering federal regulators to address alleged price gouging from oil companies and appointing an attorney general willing to lead a new lawsuit on behalf of the DoJ.
"It's to be determined if she's really willing to take all this up," Henn said. "But I think that there are a lot of signs that she could and she has the ability."
Harris's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Before serving as a U.S. senator and Biden's vice-president, Harris was California's attorney general from 2011 to 2017. In that role, she launched an investigation into ExxonMobil's framing of climate risks in January 2016, though she did not sue the company. She also won a major indictment against Plains All-American Pipeline over an oil spill in Santa Barbara and played a key role in securing a $15 billion settlement from Volkswagen after the Environmental Protection Agency found it was cheating on emissions tests. Additionally, she secured a $14 million settlement from BP subsidiaries over leaking underground fuel storage tanks.
Harris also targeted ConocoPhillips, Chevron, and the Southern California Gas Company for environmental violations and successfully sued the Obama administration over plans to frack off California's Pacific coast.
"She's got a strong background on going after big polluters," Henn said. "So when it comes to pressing this case, she's the right person for the job."
During her 2019 presidential primary campaign, Harris voiced support for climate litigation, telling Mother Jones that the DoJ should "absolutely" investigate fossil fuel companies for causing harm to communities.
"It's about having the conviction to take these guys into court and to hold them accountable," she said. "Let's get them not only in the pocketbook, but let's make sure there are severe and serious penalties for their behavior."
In her first campaign speech in Milwaukee, Harris criticized Donald Trump for his ties to the oil industry, citing reports that he promised oil companies and lobbyists he would do their bidding for $1 billion in campaign donations.
However, some of Harris's recent statements have given environmentalists pause. This week, she said she would not ban fracking if elected, walking back on statements she made in 2019. In 2015, she filed an opinion claiming a California-wide fracking ban would be illegal.
"We've seen two different sides of Kamala Harris: she's really inspiring when she embraces progressive issues and picks big fights, and then she can fall flat when she becomes too cautious," Henn said.
In an emailed statement, the American Petroleum Institute, the top U.S. oil lobby group, said, "Any future administration should focus on building on the progress the U.S. has made in leading the world in both energy production and emissions reductions," and called the demand for Harris to focus on climate accountability a "distraction."
Wiles of the CCI is optimistic about the prospects of litigation from states and municipalities bringing forth climate accountability. But a suit from the DoJ would be even more powerful, he said. A successful investigation and lawsuit could prevent the fossil fuel industry from circulating misleading claims about the climate crisis and stop greenwashing.
"The DoJ is a completely different animal," he said. "Its power is far greater than any attorney general's office in a state … They have the FBI, they have a lot more investigative resources, and they've got a lot more authority than a state attorney general is ever going to have."
Henn said if Harris commits to going after the oil industry, she could garner much-needed support from young voters and even Republicans concerned about corporate overreach. A survey from the progressive polling firm Data for Progress earlier this year found that a majority of voters support climate accountability litigation.
Lawmakers, including Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, have called on the DoJ to investigate the issue. Additionally, elected officials like Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders have urged the agency to launch a lawsuit.