Kamala Harris: A formidable foe for Big Oil in the Biden era

Kamala Harris, the current Vice President of the United States, is known for her critical approach towards oil corporations. Bloomberg notes that her stance is much more decisive than President Joe Biden's.

In the past, as Attorney General of California, Harris took several actions against so-called "Big Oil", including filing lawsuits against pipeline companies for oil spills. She also investigated Exxon Mobil Corp., accusing the company of misleading the public on climate change.

In 2019, Harris publicly called for a ban on hydraulic fracturing, a practice used in the oil industry to extract oil and gas from dense rock formations (shale gas extraction). As Bloomberg notes, Biden never supported this move, but Harris was particularly critical of offshore oil drilling development.

She sought to limit new drilling off the coast of California and, as the state's Attorney General, took the matter to court, challenging federal government permits issued for fracking in Pacific waters.

During her six-year tenure as Attorney General of California, Harris was known for her combative stance against companies that violated state laws, as highlighted by Bloomberg. She often confronted oil companies, a fact she emphasised during her 2019 presidential campaign.

Harris filed numerous lawsuits against oil companies and public utilities for environmental contamination. In 2016, her office secured a settlement of £11 million with BP Plc affiliates over allegations that they failed to prevent petrol leaks from underground storage tanks at nearly 800 petrol stations in California.

During her term, California secured other multimillion-pound settlements with companies like Phillips 66, ConocoPhillips, Chevron USA, and Chevron Stations Inc. to resolve similar allegations involving leaking underground petrol tanks. After about 530,000 litres of oil spilt from a ruptured pipeline, Harris' office filed criminal charges against Plains American Pipeline LP, based in Houston.

In the Senate, Harris co-sponsored legislation promoting the principles of the Green New Deal, which called for a 10-year national mobilisation to eliminate emissions, transition to zero-emission energy, and overhaul the national transportation systems, recalls Bloomberg.

Although the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Biden is the country's most radical climate law, it does not reach the scope of the Green New Deal, which some progressive Democrats advocate for.

Harris has also focused on environmental justice, both as California's Attorney General and while representing the state in the US Senate.