Due to her efforts to reduce fossil fuels, Vice President Kamala Harris could lose the election in November to Donald Trump, the former president.

Ms. Harris is vague on her plans for energy policy as she attempts to keep climate activists on her side without offending swing-state voters, who depend on oil and gas economies and low energy prices.

In a blurb posted on her website the day prior to Tuesday’s debate, Ms. Harris pledged to “unite Americans in tackling the climate crisis,” lower energy costs and create “millions” jobs. She promised to promote “environmental justice,” safeguard public lands, and hold polluters responsible. In 196 words, Ms. Harris does not explain how she would achieve these goals, or address concerns about solar and wind energy destabilizing the nation’s grid, electric vehicle pushback, and increased energy costs.

Mr. Trump proposes an aggressive pursuit for energy development. Trump’s “drill baby drill” mantra also includes fracking, which is a technique for extracting natural gas and oil from underground rocks.

He attacks Ms. Harris’ record on energy and exposes her devotion to Green New Deal. He warns swing-state voters that the policies of the Biden-Harris Administration to achieve net-zero emission are harming U.S. production and driving up prices.

This issue could be decisive in Pennsylvania, Michigan and the other Rust Belt States where manufacturing and fracking dominate the economy and where the Biden administration’s policies on energy have affected gas and electricity costs and the economy.

Energy costs are always on the minds of consumers, despite low gas prices and a record production of fossil fuels. Trump’s campaign will try to capitalize on inflationary fears if they persist, said Christopher Borick, professor of politics at Muhlenberg College, Pennsylvania.

The issue is still very hot, despite the fact that the U.S. is the top energy producer in the world. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, for the last six years, the U.S. has produced more crude than any other nation.

In Pennsylvania, the two candidates are tied. Recent polls in Michigan, Wisconsin and Michigan show that Ms. Harris is leading by approximately 1 percentage point.

Mr. Trump hopes to undermine Ms. Harris’ election chances in Rustbelt states by highlighting her policies against fossil-fuels, her administration’s sharp reduction of oil and gas leasing on federal lands and significant increases in upfront drilling costs.

At a rally held in western Pennsylvania on August 30, Mr. Trump said, “She has repeatedly vowed that she would ban fracking. She will always ban it.”

According to the Marcellus Shale Coalition, fracking in Pennsylvania generated $41.4 billion dollars in economic activity and supported 123,000 job opportunities in 2022.

Republicans won’t let Ms. Harris forget about her pledge during the 2019 presidential campaign to ban fracking in federal land. Ms. Harris, in her only sit-down interview with a media outlet as a candidate for president, said without explanation that she would change her mind about fracking when President Biden reversed his position on the ban and selected her as his running partner.

In 2020, I was very clear about my position. In 2024 I will not change my position. “I kept my word and I will keep it,” she said.

It is over for Ms. Harris, but not for Mr. Trump.

At a rally on August 29 in Potterville Michigan, Mr. Trump informed supporters at the Arlo steel plant that the Biden and Harris administration’s efforts to shut down power plants have increased energy costs. He criticised Mr. Biden for implementing the nation’s most stringent tailpipe emission caps. This would force automakers to switch to electric vehicles and could destroy the industry.

On his first day as president, Mr. Trump pledged to reverse these policies.

“To achieve this rapid decrease in energy costs, i will declare a National Emergency to allow us dramatically increase energy generation, supply and production which Comrade Kamala destroyed”, Mr. Trump said to the crowd using one of his famous nicknames for his opponents. “She destroyed it. From Day One on, I will give approval to new drilling, pipelines, refineries, power plants, and reactors. We will also reduce the amount of red tape. We will do the job. We will also create more electricity for these new industries, which can only operate with massive electricity. “We’ll do it.”

For almost four years, Ms. Harris stood at Mr. Biden’s side while he implemented the most radical federal measures to eradicate fossil fuels from American households and the economy.

Ms. Harris did not mention, on stage or in her interview, that she had endorsed the Biden administration’s power plant rule, which will shut down coal and natural-gas plants in the next decades. She also didn’t discuss the tailpipe emission rule, which will force automakers into producing mostly electric vehicles or the efforts to ban or restrict gas appliances from American homes. She has also remained silent about the administration’s attempts to stop new natural gas and oil development on public land and to limit some natural gas exports.

Ms. Harris only alluded climate change policies during her acceptance speech to the Democratic National Convention in last month. She warned that the election is about “fundamental liberties” including “the right to breathe fresh air, drink pure water, and live without the pollution fueling the climate crisis.”

Ms. Harris refused to give any specifics when asked by CNN why she changed her position on the fracking issue. She shifted her focus to the tax and green energy bill, on which she had cast the tie-breaking vote as President of the Senate. The legislation that Mr. Biden has signed dedicates hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funds to green energy projects.

“My values haven’t changed. It is important to me that we do what we can to protect ourselves from what I consider a climate crisis. We can achieve this by building on what we’ve done so far,” said Ms. Sherry.

Some interest groups are increasing the pressure on Ms. Harris for her to clarify her position.

The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers released an ad in late August asking if Ms. Harris supports a gas-powered car ban by 2035 as outlined by her during the 2019 presidential campaign or a Biden-Harris rule on tailpipe emissions that would require automakers to produce a majority of electric cars as early as 2032.

“Until we hear otherwise from the Vice President, we must believe that she is still standing by her 2019 policy.”