The N.C. Sierra Club took long strides in 2022 toward our goals for clean energy and clean transportation development, lasting protections for our air and water, and the inclusion of all North Carolinians in our environmental priorities and progress.
At all levels of government and across communities, we pushed for new policy, planning, and funding to support a green transition in our state and beyond. From vehicle electrification and renewable energy development, to combating environmental injustices and climate change, our Chapter worked to strengthen all of our advocacy efforts. North Carolina Sierrans can be proud that, together, we fought to defend and develop policies and practices to safeguard air, water, forests, and public lands for all North Carolinians.
Clean Transportation
Early this year, Gov. Roy Cooper released Executive Order 246, which strengthened targets for lowering statewide greenhouse gas emissions, directed all state agencies to incorporate equity and environmental justice in their work, and raised the statewide goal for zero-emission vehicles to 1.25 million by 2030. It also directed the state’s Transportation and Environmental Quality departments to develop a plan to decarbonize the transportation sector.
State regulators reported in January that transportation emissions are now the leading contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in North Carolina. Governor Cooper targeted those emissions in EO 246’s Clean Transportation Plan, emphasizing the need to invest in clean transportation infrastructure, reduce vehicle miles traveled, improve public transportation, increase access to clean mobility options, and ensure that electric vehicle (EV) charging stations are available across the state.
N.C. Chapter and national Sierra Club staff participated in public comment sessions and working groups to offer guidance on the Clean Transportation Plan's elements including EV fleets, EV charging investments, and equitable development. We collaborated with other North Carolina advocacy groups to publish a report of independent modeling and analysis for clean transportation. Transforming Transportation In North Carolina identified EV charging gaps across the state and quantified the massive benefits of achieving EO 246 goals.
Our Chapter will stay alert and involved in the new year. Keep an eye on our email, newsletters and social media for an alert when a draft plan is released in early 2023, which will trigger a new opportunity for public input before the final document is due on April 7.
Clean, Affordable Energy
North Carolina Carbon Plan
North Carolina is committed to achieving a 70 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030, and net-zero emissions by 2050. House Bill 951, passed last year, ordered the N.C. Utilities Commission to create a Carbon Plan that meets these targets using least-cost technology. We're keeping an eye out for the finalized Plan, due to drop by December 31.
The Sierra Club participated in the Carbon Plan process as an intervenor throughout 2022. We are also part of People Power NC, a coalition of clean energy and social justice organizations working to ensure equitable, clean energy, a clean environment, and a healthy climate. That group monitored Carbon Plan drafts submitted to the Utilities Commission by Duke Energy, the state’s largest monopoly utility. Duke's proposals fell short on many fronts, such as emphasizing longer facility lifespans and additional investment in coal and fracked gas power sourcing. Only one of the utility’s scenarios included a timeline that would meet our state’s climate and emissions goals. People Power NC worked to keep the public informed and engaged through the process, holding informative webinars, hearings, and rallies to support a forward-thinking Carbon Plan rooted in equity, clean energy and economic feasibility.
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
The N.C. Sierra Club continued its support of our state's plan to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, spearheading a public campaign to urge Governor Cooper to prioritize the requisite regulatory process. More than 2,500 North Carolinians reached out to Cooper through channels opened by the Chapter and our allies. The coalition will keep an eye on the process to be sure that North Carolina's participation in this multi-state program benefits all people and avoids disparate impacts on frontline communities, such as creating hot spots of higher carbon emissions.
Offshore Wind
North Carolina is developing two offshore wind energy leases: Carolina Long Bay and Kitty Hawk. As part of the Offshore Wind for North Carolina coalition, the N.C. Chapter continues to support environmental justice initiatives as well as conservation, economic and workforce development affected by offshore wind's growth.
Environmental Justice & Equity
Governor Cooper's Executive Order 246 set a clear commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion as North Carolina develops its clean energy economy. As a result, the very structure of state agencies now supports and collaborates on our shared goals around environmental justice and inclusion.
The N.C. Chapter and our volunteer leaders across North Carolina paid special attention to issues where marginalized and underserved communities faced significant harm from environmental threats.
Wood Pellets
Clear-cutting of North Carolina forests continued to supply wood pellets for energy in the United Kingdom. In addition to conservation threats such as habitat destruction and the loss of natural carbon sinks, the wood pellet industry is notorious for locating its factories in low-income areas and communities of color. Our Chapter and allies pushed back this year, in one case submitting comments that helped to delay permitting for a wood pellet plant expansion. North Carolina Sierrans also participated in government conversations regarding enforcement against this destructive industry. We hope that the Governor’s EO 246 environmental justice provisions will generate strong policy and action against wood pellets in the coming year.
CAFOs
The Chapter kept up with the latest twist in the fight against environmental harms from concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, in North Carolina. These industrial livestock operations are primarily located in low-income, rural communities and pose significant risks to environmental and human health. North Carolina is the largest poultry producer and among the top swine producers in the country, yet regulations, permitting, and inspections have long favored industrial-level farming, giving little support to the people who live near these facilities - even as courts sided with aggrieved farm neighbors. The Chapter and our allies ultimately were unable to dissuade legislators from allowing facilities that will create biogas from hog waste lagoons, so we'll watch and engage to demand strict safeguards for each facility that seeks a permit.
PFAS
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS - or "forever chemicals" for their inability to break down naturally in the environment - are now found in the blood of almost every American. Yet there are still many questions about the extent of PFAS soil and water pollution and the damage these chemicals may cause - particularly in North Carolina's Cape Fear River region, where PFAS were dumped by the Chemours plant in Fayetteville.
Since the Chemours pollution came to light and knowledge has grown about the much broader issue of PFAS contamination across the country, the N.C. Chapter has worked to hold polluters accountable, build awareness and understanding of PFAS science, and advocate for more regulatory protection. The state's Department of Environmental Quality and the federal Environmental Protection Agency both have made PFAS regulation a top priority, and we'll continue to engage with them and support communities that are most heavily affected by this issue.
Though our staff will take a well-deserved break over the holidays, we're already making plans with our volunteer leaders, activists and allies about how we'll tackle these and other top issues in 2023. The N.C. Chapter of Sierra Club hopes to see you standing with us to "explore, enjoy and protect" our state and all who live in it - now, next year and long into the future.
