Today Governor Cooper joined DEQ Secretary Michael S. Regan to discusscoastal resiliency and clean energy with coastal mayors and county leaders at the North Carolina Estuarium in Washington, NC.
“Eastern North Carolina has endured the brunt of storms like Dorian and Florence,” Governor Coopersaid. “We must rebuild stronger and smarter and work to address the impacts of climate change.”
The mayors and elected officials discussed hurricane recovery and the resiliency measures that their cities, towns and counties are pursuing to adapt to North Carolina’s new normal. They also discussed the economic and environmental benefits of clean energy projects in their communities.
After the discussion, Governor Cooper signed a proclamation declaring Sept 23-27th Clean EnergyWeek in North Carolina. The proclamation highlights the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change, which is a key goal of the state’s Clean Energy Plan.
“Clean energy and resiliency go hand in hand. Cutting greenhouse gas emissions from power generation will mitigate the impacts of climate change and modernizing our electric grid will help us withstand the storms of the future,” said Secretary Regan.
The North Carolina Interagency Climate Council will present North Carolina’s Clean Energy Plan toGovernor Cooper later this week at the Climate Change Interagency Council in Raleigh. The plan includes key policy recommendations to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, create economic opportunities and foster affordability move North Carolina toward a clean energy future.
North Carolina is already leading in clean energy generation and jobs. Our state is second in the nation for installed solar capacity and a national leader in energy efficiency, smart grid technology anddata analytics.
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