During the recent presidential debate between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, many questions about their environmental views came to light. 

When asked by moderator Linsey Davis about what they would do to fight climate change, the two candidates had very different responses. 

Vice President Kamala Harris said, “I am proud that as Vice President over the last four years, we [The Biden-Harris administration] have invested a trillion dollars in a clean energy economy while we have also increased domestic gas production to historic levels.”

What she is referring to as the ‘trillion dollars’ that she put towards climate change is the Inflation Reduction Act, which was an investment in climate action and clean energy by making renewable energy costs lower and more accessible. 

On the other hand, former President Donald Trump deflected the question, instead voicing his opinions about the economy and international affairs, which were not related to the question posed.  

In response to Harris, who stated that her administration has created more jobs related to clean energy sources than Trump, he said, “That didn’t happen under Donald Trump. Let me just tell you, they [The Biden-Harris Administration] lost 10,000 manufacturing jobs this last month.”

Part of the reason he avoided this question was due to his attitude towards global warming and climate change. ABC News reports that Trump told the crowd at a rally in Hilton Head, South Carolina, “Obama’s talking about all of this with global warming and… a lot of it’s a hoax. It’s a hoax. I mean, it’s a money-making industry, okay?” 

Neither candidate talked about their future plans for combating climate change, however their responses in the debate and their prior statements give the viewer an idea of how they would, or would not proceed if they were elected as president.

An important environmental topic discussed during the debate was fracking. According to ABC News, fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, is the way that natural gasses and oils are extracted from rock. Both candidates have had differing opinions on fracking.

Recently, Harris changed her opinion from wanting to ban fracking to saying in a recent CNN interview, “What I have seen is that we can grow and we can increase a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking.” 

At the last Republican National Convention, Trump brought up that he doesn’t want to ban fracking because it would lead to “a large-scale decline in prices.” Trump exclaimed to the crowd, “We will drill, baby, drill, and we will do it at levels that nobody’s ever seen before.” 

Despite the two candidates differing opinions on fracking the facts are that fracking has many negative effects on the environment. Poorly built oil and gas wells can contaminate groundwater through leaks, and fracking requires millions of gallons of water. According to the Yale School of Public Health, “The process creates vast amounts of wastewater, emits greenhouse gasses such as methane, releases toxic air pollutants, and generates noise. Studies have shown these gas and oil operations can lead to loss of animal and plant habitats, species decline, migratory disruptions and land degradation.”

“[Harris] and Governor Walz will always fight for the freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis,” was promoted on Harris’ campaign website. While Trump promoted on his campaign website that, “Republicans will increase Energy Production across the board, streamline permitting, and end market-distorting restrictions on Oil, Natural Gas, and Coal.”