On 5 November, US voters will elect either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump as their next president.

The election, in a nation that is the largest oil producer and second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, will be highly significant for climate politics both in the US and around the world.

Harris, a Democrat who is currently serving as vice president under Joe Biden, is part of a government that has passed the most ambitious climate legislation in US history.

US fossil-fuel production has surged during the Biden administration. However, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has set the nation on a course to slash its domestic emissions by offering billions of dollars in subsidies and tax credits for clean energy and electric vehicles.

Trump, the Republican candidate, is a climate sceptic who rolled back many environmental regulations during his 2017-2021 presidential term. He has dismissed climate policies as a “scam”, pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement and called for yet more oil production by repeating the mantra “