Kamala Harris visits college campus to tout climate change, Inflation Reduction Act

University at Buffalo (UB), in New York, hosted Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 14 to speak about the Inflation Reduction Act and climate change. 

“The work that is happening [at UB] is very exciting, and really a model for our country,” Harris said in the opening of her speech. 

Harris stated that she spoke with high school and college students about a wide range of issues during the 2020 campaign, but one particular topic always came to mind: climate change. 

“To the young leaders, I said, in your lifetime, your generation has experienced every one of the 10 hottest summers on record, you have seen your communities decimated by wildfires, flooded by hurricanes, and choked by drought,” Harris said. “Your generation knows the threat of the climate crisis because you have lived it.”

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Harris claimed the science was clear and that the administration had solutions ready to be put in place, but blamed political opponents for barring such plans.  

“It is not because we lack solutions…It is because too many so-called leaders have lacked the political will and courage to act,” Harris stated. 

BU President Satish Tripathi stated he was looking “forward to supporting the [Biden] administration’s ambitious climate action goals by continuing to channel our disciplinary expertise into one of the most critical challenges of our time," according to BU's Twitter.

Welcome, Madam Vice President! 🇺🇸 We are pleased to announce that @VP Kamala Harris will visit #UBuffalo on 9/14 to provide remarks on #climate and energy investments in the Inflation Reduction Act! For details ▶️ https://t.co/y7n8X2I4FR pic.twitter.com/dr3vaz3FgO

— UBuffalo (@UBuffalo) September 14, 2022

[RELATED: UC Berkeley study links economic inequality to climate change]

UB student Chelsea Heymann told Campus Reform that the speech was only open to members of the media, despite "tons of students" that attempted to watch.

"Tons of students were out to see her but she came our for less than a minute to tell people to leave the area," Heymann said. "[She] was only here on campus... to give her speech then leave."

Campus Reform contacted UB, President Satish Tripathi, and Vice President Kamala Harris for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.