Raleigh, NC – The town of Carrboro, North Carolina filed a major lawsuit this week in Orange County Superior Court against Duke Energy, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities providers. The suit is backed by pro-solar nonprofit NC Warn, which is seeking monetary damages to address current and future climate-related harms.
“Litigation like this is less about meaningful environmental progress and more about scoring political points at the expense of energy consumers,” said Yaël Ossowski, Deputy Director of the Consumer Choice Center. “These kinds of suits have cropped up in Honolulu, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and even Australia in local, more ideological courtrooms.”
Unlike prior cases such as the Our Children’s Trust suing Montana over allegations that oil drilling threatens the well-being of future generations, this is the first major lawsuit focused on an electric utility investing heavily in clean energy technologies such as nuclear power.
The Supreme Court has declined to get involved in advancing these climate lawsuits as recently as November.
“This effort is meant to prop up a nationally struggling solar industry and slow down the progress of nuclear energy in providing a reliable clean energy future. A cause these groups and the plaintiff in NC claim to champion” added Ossowski. “North Carolina has one of the lowest per capita natural gas usage rates, has seen energy bills reduced by $212 million in 2023, and has diversified its energy grid so fast that nuclear is one-third of the state’s portfolio. Things have never been better for North Carolinians on clean energy.”
The Consumer Choice Center wants to see Carrboro and other municipalities prioritize collaboration over litigation that is meant to drain resources that would otherwise serve consumers. North Carolinians benefit every day from lower energy costs and innovation, and we all need more of that, not less.
Yaël Ossowski’s analysis of climate change litigation can be reviewed in the Orange County Register, Duluth Tribune, West Australian, and the LA Daily News. He is available for media interviews and requests.
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The Consumer Choice Center is an independent, nonpartisan consumer advocacy group championing the benefits of freedom of choice, innovation, and abundance in everyday life for consumers in over 100 countries. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Washington, Brussels, Ottawa, Brasilia, London, and Geneva.
Find out more at www.consumerchoicecenter.org