North Carolina lawmakers finalize bill that would scrap 2030 carbon reduction goal

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina legislators finalized a bill Thursday that would eliminate an interim greenhouse gas reduction mandate set in a landmark 2021 law, while still directing regulators to aim to cancel out power plant carbon emissions in the state within the next 25 years.

With some bipartisan support, the state Senate voted to accept the House version that would repeal the 2021 law's requirement that electric regulators take ''all reasonable steps to achieve'' reducing carbon dioxide output 70% from 2005 levels by 2030. The law's directive to take similar steps to meet a carbon neutrality standard by 2050 would remain in place.

The bill's Republican supporters pushing the new measure say getting rid of the interim goal benefits ratepayers asked to pay for future electric-production construction and is more efficient for Duke Energy, the state's dominant electric utility.

The bill now goes to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who can veto the measure, sign it or let it become law without his signature. Stein previously expressed concerns about the Senate version of the measure, worried that it could hurt electricity users and threaten the state's clean-energy economy. His office didn't immediately provide comment after Thursday's vote.

With over a dozen House and Senate Democrats voting for the final version, the chances that any Stein veto could be overridden are higher. Republicans in charge of the General Assembly are only one House seat shy of a veto-proof majority.

The bill also contains language that would help Duke Energy seek higher electric rates to cover financing costs to build nuclear or gas-powered plants incrementally, rather than wait until the project's end.

The 2021 greenhouse gas law marked a rare agreement on environmental issues by then-Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican lawmakers.

At least 17 other states — most controlled by Democrats — have laws setting similar net-zero power plant emissions or 100% renewable energy targets, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. North Carolina and Virginia are the only ones from the Southeast.

The legislation came about as President Donald Trump's administration has proposed rolling back federal environmental and climate change policies, which critics say could boost pollution and threaten human health. Republicans are promoting them as ways to reduce the cost of living and boost the economy.

The state Utilities Commission, which regulates rates and services for public utilities, already has pushed back the 2030 deadline — as the 2021 law allows — by at least four years. The panel acknowledged last year it was ''no longer reasonable or executable'' for Duke Energy to meet the reduction standard by 2030.

Bill supporters say to meet the goal would require expensive types of alternate energy immediately. If the interim standard can be bypassed, GOP bill authors say, Duke Energy can assemble less expensive power sources now and moderate electricity rate increases necessary to reach the 2050 standard.

''Our residents shouldn't be saddled with higher power bills to satisfy arbitrary targets,'' Republican Senate leader Phil Berger said in a news release after the vote.

Citing an analysis performed by a state agency that represents consumers before the commission, GOP lawmakers say removing the interim goal would reduce by at least $13 billion what Duke Energy would have to spend — and pass on to customers — in the next 25 years.

Bill opponents question the savings figure given uncertainty in plant fuel prices, energy demand and construction costs. They say the interim goal still holds an aspirational purpose and was something that Duke Energy had agreed in 2021 to meet.

Provisions in the measure related to recouping plant construction expenses over time would reduce accumulated borrowing interest.

Environmental groups argue the financing option would benefit Duke Energy's bottom line on expensive projects even if they're never completed, and the bill broadly would prevent cleaner energy sources from coming online sooner. They also contend another bill section would shift costs to residential customers.

''This bill is bad for all North Carolinians, whether they're Duke Energy customers or simply people who want to breathe clean air,'' North Carolina Sierra Club director Chris Herndon said after the vote while urging Stein to veto the measure.

Bill support came from the North Carolina Chamber and a manufacturers' group, in addition to Duke Energy.

''We appreciate bipartisan efforts by policymakers to keep costs as low as possible for customers and enable the always-on energy resources our communities need,'' the company said this week.