On climate, a short riff grows in Chicago

There's a striking consistency in the way Kamala Harris and Tim Walz offered just glancing references to climate change in their DNC speeches.

Why it matters: The framing in the context of "freedom" could preview their strategy for the balance of the short campaign.

Driving the news: Harris' speech very briefly touched climate in a much wider riff on what she called "fundamental freedoms at stake" in November.

It's the "freedom to breathe clean air, and drink clean water and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis," she said.
That's the same construction that Tim Walz used a night earlier, when he said the election is about "freedom."
He didn't even mention climate but tucked in the allegation that Republicans want corporations "free to pollute your air and water."

The big picture: Convention acceptance speeches aren't designed as wonky policy blueprints.

What they're saying: Bloomberg explores why Harris only gave climate a quick cameo.

"While climate activism could energize young voters, it also risks alienating potential supporters in the gas-rich swing state of Pennsylvania, said Kevin Book, managing director of the Washington consulting firm ClearView Energy Partners LLC," they report.

What we're watching: Whether this "freedom" framing remains the strategy.

I also expect the campaign to stitch low-carbon energy into their wider economic message, focusing on swing state investments flowing under the 2021 infrastructure law and the IRA.

Yes, but: Fighting climate change did get some love in earlier speeches and videos on the DNC's final day.