Why Kamala Harris Won't Ban Fracking

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at a watch party after ... [+] a presidential debate with former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Cherry Street Pier in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 2024. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

During a heated presidential debate on Tuesday night, former President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed that Kamala Harris would ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking) if she became president. He asserted, "If she won the election, fracking in Pennsylvania will end on day one."

In response, Harris clarified, "I will not ban fracking. I have not banned fracking as Vice President of the United States. In fact, I was the tie-breaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which opened new leases for fracking."

Trump's claim wasn’t entirely without basis, as Harris had previously stated during her 2019 presidential campaign, "There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking."

However, the reality is more nuanced, as I explained in a 2019 article, Why A Ban On Fracking Will Never Happen. In that piece, I pointed out that Harris, along with Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, had expressed support for a fracking ban.

Even Joe Biden campaigned on "no new fracking" before adjusting his position to acknowledge the necessity of fracking as part of an energy transition, which I detailed in Joe Biden Shifts To A Realistic Fracking Stance.

The truth is, political candidates often make statements to appeal to their base. Whether Harris was pandering or genuinely believed at one point that fracking should be banned, there is currently no practical way to stop it.

Fracking, which dates back to the late 1940s, sparked a U.S. oil and gas production boom when combined with horizontal drilling about 20 years ago. This surge in production has made the U.S. the world’s leading producer of both oil and natural gas.

Most of this production happens on private land, meaning that, even if Trump believes otherwise, Harris would have no authority to end fracking in Pennsylvania on her first day in office.

New laws would be required to halt fracking, and given its significant role in U.S. energy production, it's highly unlikely Congress would pass such a law.

As a result, it's a moot point. As I wrote in 2019, I still don’t believe a ban on fracking will ever happen.