New NC law sets goal for carbon neutrality by 2050 - WLOS
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — On Oct. 13, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed into law House Bill 951.
The bill, titled "Energy Solutions for North Carolina," sets lofty goals for the reduction of carbon emissions.
The bill is a bipartisan compromise that would require Duke Energy to cut carbon pollution by 70% from 2005 levels by 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2050. It only allows 5% of those reductions to be achieved through carbon offsets.
The act authorizes the NC Utilities Commission to take "all reasonable steps" to achieve those goals. The commission has until the end of 2022 to formulate a plan.
Gray Jernigan, the Southern Regional Director for local nonprofit organization MountainTrue, said this would put North Carolina in an "elite group of states."
"It's one of only two in the southeast that sets a goal for carbon neutrality by 2050," Jernigan said. "The bill's not perfect but it sets us off on an ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. We think it's a great bipartisan effort to reach that goal."
Some critics have said, though, that the bill does not go far enough and lacks adequate protections for moderate and low-income customers.
Leaders at MountainTrue say the bill still does far more good than bad, though they agree with some of those concerns.
"There's absolutely more to be done to control rates for low income and moderate-income families but we think this is an important bipartisan step toward carbon neutrality and setting the deadline for 2050 is a great step," Jernigan said.
Jernigan said any claim, though, that the bill is "not enforceable in its overarching goals is just not true," saying Duke Energy must comply with the plan set forth by the NC Utilities Commission, which it is required by law to make soon.
In a statement, Stephen De May, the NC President of Duke Energy, said, “We thank Governor Cooper and Senate and House leaders for passing this landmark legislation with broad bipartisan support, creating a framework to reach some of the most aggressive carbon reduction goals in the country while maintaining least-cost and reliability requirements to protect customers. We look forward to implementing this new policy for the benefit of all North Carolinians.”
source: https://wlos.com/news/local/new-nc-law-sets-goal-for-carbon-neutrality-by-2050
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