Climate advocates support Walz, but Harris-Walz climate platform still unclear

Climate advocates are showing strong support for Gov. Tim Walz’s vice presidential campaign. They point to his record.

“Walz was responsible, or at least, signed into law several climate action bills that are progressive no matter which state you live in,” said Kristoffer Tigue, who wrote about Walz’s climate record for Inside Climate News. “That includes a law from 2023 which requires Minnesota utilities to produce 100 percent of their electricity from carbon free sources by 2040. He also signed several other bills that do a lot to advance the effort to slow down climate change.” 

Tigue joined MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner to talk about Walz’s record in Minnesota and what that might mean for the Harris-Walz ticket.

“A lot of advocates and political analysts believe that the Harris-Walz ticket will probably walk a line that’s similar to what Biden has been doing in his last couple of years as president, which is taking kind of a moderate approach, trying to appeal to a broader audience, rather than appeasing a smaller, more progressive climate constituency,” Tigue said.

But there’s not a lot to go on.

“Both Walz and Harris have largely refrained from talking about climate change since announcing their campaign together, but in the debate with former President Trump earlier this month, Harris did address climate change, and the two have since released a platform, though the details on policy are still pretty slim,” she said.

To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.