AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File; AP Photo/Artie Walker Jr.
- Climate change has become one of the more polarizing issues dividing Americans in recent years.
- Biden and Trump have starkly different approaches in their handling of climate issues.
- Biden has sought to enact tougher regulations. Trump largely has the ear of oil and gas interests.
For millions of Americans, there's nothing more important than the well-being of the environment.
From the protection of lakes and streams to the battle to curb greenhouse gas emissions, many voters in the upcoming US presidential election want to see the federal government play an active role in climate issues.
But some voters also oppose stronger federal oversight of the environment, arguing that the economic benefits of increased oil drilling is paramount — while also dismissing global agreements on climate change as detrimental to the country's autonomy.
One thing is clear though: the lion's share of voters believe that climate change is real.
The latest quarterly survey from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication revealed that 72% of Americans believed that climate change was occurring, while only 15% disagreed. That same survey showed that 58% of Americans felt global warming was caused by humans, while 29% believed it was a natural occurrence.
And the divergence in views on the cause of climate change has hardened political divides in recent years, with Democrats largely pushing for more protections while the GOP has been more receptive to energy interests who have largely opposed such rules.
Here's a look at President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump's positions on climate — which is poised to be a defining issue for Gen Z and millennial voters this fall.
Where Joe Biden stands on climate
Biden has sought to position himself as one of the most pro-environment presidents in US history, following in the footsteps of his onetime boss, President Barack Obama.
Under Obama, the US joined the Paris Agreement, an international treaty which was crafted to significantly reduce the level of greenhouse emissions. But President Donald Trump withdrew from the plan while in office, blasting it as detrimental to the US economy.
On the same day as his January 2021 inauguration, Biden rejoined the Paris climate accord, putting the country back in line with nearly 200 countries that pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
That same day, Biden also revoked a key presidential permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project championed by Trump but opposed by many Democrats, environmental groups, and an array of Native American communities.
In September 2023, Biden canceled seven Trump-era oil and gas leases in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which contains some of the most pristine lands in the country.
Biden has also pushed through new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that will limit tailpipe emissions from future trucks and passenger vehicles and strengthen the reporting requirements of methane emissions from oil and natural gas operations.
Where Donald Trump stands on climate
Trump's staunch opposition to the Paris Agreement is well-known.
During his first term in office, he rolled back key environmental protections, opening up lands to logging and even weakening efficiency standards for dishwashers and lightbulbs.
In April 2024, Trump suggested to a group of wealthy oil executives assembled at Mar-a-Lago that they should collectively raise $1 billion to help him win a second term in order to dismantle regulations that they oppose, according to The Washington Post. Per the newspaper, Trump then stated that such a sum would amount to a "deal," as the executives would avoid more stringent rules with him in the Oval Office.
Trump has also railed against Biden's strong support of electric vehicles, arguing that their ramped-up production will hurt the economy. The ex-president hopes that such a message will gain steam in places like Michigan — the Midwestern battleground state where he hopes to upset the incumbent in November.
The Project 2025 proposal, which outlines what Trump would do early in a second term, spells out the approach that his administration would likely take regarding oil and gas production — which the former president strongly advocated for while in office.
Two of goals for a Trump-run Department of Energy: "Unleash private-sector energy innovation by ending government interference in energy decisions" and "Stop the war on oil and natural gas."