Source: NPR
The small town of Carrboro, North Carolina is suing one of the country’s largest electric utilities, Duke Energy, over climate change.
While states and cities have filed lawsuits against big oil companies, suing utilities is less common. The arguments are similar though. Carrboro alleges Duke knew about climate change for over 50 years but continued to operate coal and gas power plants that spewed greenhouse gases. The lawsuit also says Duke participated in campaigns to confuse the public about whether climate change was real to avoid stricter regulations.
Duke Energy is the third largest source of carbon dioxide in the country, according to an analysis from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. That puts it well ahead of ExxonMobil and Koch Industries. The utility has six coal-fired power plants in North Carolina.
