Despite Biden’s climate win, young climate activists prefer Harris

President Joe Biden may have passed the most significant climate change bill in U.S. history, but many young environmental activists say they believe Kamala Harris has a stronger case on the issue.

The heads of 11 groups dedicated to raising young voters’ concern about climate change said Harris’ track record going after big oil companies as a prosecutor and her co-sponsoring of the Green New Deal as a senator made her a more appealing candidate than Biden, despite her victories on environmental issues.

“She has a track record of holding big oil accountable in a way that we haven’t been able to do for the last four years,” said Al-Shainee Ajay, 26, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, which advocates for government intervention to combat climate change.

The Green New Deal Network is a coalition of 19 progressive environmental and social justice organizations, including the Sunrise Movement. I endorsed Harris this week. However, he has never previously voiced his support for Biden.

The Biden administration’s record on climate is relatively good. The biggest investment in climate change For the first time in U.S. history, we have allocated nearly $370 billion to environmental protection efforts; and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act These include investments in clean energy, electric vehicle infrastructure, public transport and strengthening climate resilience.

But several young environmental activists, ages 16 to 29, said those successes have been clouded by the expansion of the fossil fuel industry during Biden’s term.

Oil companies have seen increased profits and U.S. oil exports have increased under Biden compared to under Trump. Reuters reported.Biden also endorses Willow Oil Drilling Project Construction accelerates in Alaska Mountain Valley Pipeline Virginia and West Virginia.

“Frankly, I’m frustrated that this administration claims to be showing leadership on climate change yet approves so many fossil fuel projects,” said Keanu Arpels Josiah, 19, an organizer with Fridays for Future, an international youth-led climate change group started by Greta Thunberg.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Dana Fisher, director of the Center for Environment, Community and Equity at American University, said it’s not that young voters are ignoring Biden’s climate change efforts, they just want to see more of them.

“Young people are aware of how serious the climate crisis is, and they know that this is not enough,” Fisher said.

She also said several young environmental activists told her in the spring that they were encouraging their members to refrain from voting in the presidential election altogether.

“I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? Don’t you remember what happened in 2000?'” Fischer said, referring to the slim margin that decided that year’s presidential election. “Of course they didn’t know, because if they were alive, they were in diapers. It’s very hard to take the long view when you’re young.”

Fischer said the young environmental activists she has spoken to seem more likely to vote since Biden dropped out of the race.

Harris’ younger supporters highlight the settlements she won as California’s attorney general. Chevron, BP and ConocoPhillips Regarding handling of hazardous materials.

“Biden is much more moderate in terms of his policy approach, but Kamala is not afraid to really get to the bottom of environmental and climate policy, especially against polluters,” said Iris Zhang, 20, a youth advisory board member at the Global Youth Storytelling and Research Lab, which engages young leaders in climate and environmental justice research.

Harris referenced that early work at several points during her campaign’s early days.

“As District Attorney, I created one of the first Environmental Justice Units in the nation to go after polluters,” she says. July 22 in WilmingtonThe Delaware native spoke about her time as district attorney in San Francisco, when “Donald Trump stood at Mar-a-Lago and told lobbyists for Big Oil that he would do what they said for $1 billion in campaign contributions.”

Harris’s California background also appears to be resonating with young environmentalists.

Zanagie Artis, 24, co-founder of the climate justice group Zero Hour, said that because California regularly experiences the effects of the climate crisis, including droughts, heat waves and wildfires, “there is a lot of value in empathizing with young people who are fighting so hard for climate justice.”

Young activists pointed to Harris’ climate change policies. 2020 Presidential ElectionAt the time, she pledged to invest $10 trillion over 10 years in climate change efforts, and set a goal of transitioning to a 100% clean energy economy by 2045.

“We want her to be able to set the standard and not just follow the Biden administration’s lead,” said Natalie Bookout, who turned 18 in October and leads the Sunrise Movement chapter in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Heather Hargreaves, executive director of campaigns at Climate Power, a communications organization focused on electing climate change leaders, said that among young people, “there may just be a knowledge gap about what President Biden has done over the last three years.”

A Harris campaign spokesman said she plans to strengthen climate change efforts in the Inflation Control Act, but declined to answer a question about whether she has more support than Biden among younger environmentalists.

The spokesperson also said Harris Said in 2019 If elected president, she would ban fracking. I no longer support such bans.

“She doesn’t want to alienate people from fossil fuel states,” Fischer said. “She’s not going to be as progressive as she was in California. But will she be more progressive than Biden? I expect she will.”

Harris represents dozens of environmental groups and more than 350 www.nbcnews.com