I’m very confident that everyone subscribed to this newsletter will have seen at least one of the national news stories about Carrboro’s historic Climate Action first this week, but I’m also confident based on conversations with neighbors that many of our fellow residents may not, or that they may have misconceptions about what’s happening. Please share this with our neighbors by forwarding this email.

I ran on a campaign with four pillars, one of which was Climate Action, so it was a pleasant surprise to go into closed session after being officially seated as a member of Town Council and be briefed on the pending litigation against Duke Energy, the parent company of our local regulated electric power utility, for their decades-long deception about the impact of carbon emissions on our climate. My very first vote as a member of Council was to move forward with the suit, and this suit is definitely Climate Action!

I’m honored to be following through on my campaign promise, and Carrboro should be proud: we’re the first municipality to sue an electric utility for climate deception. This is an issue of justice. A big corporation should not profit from deception while we pay increasingly large bills for the impacts of their decisions. They are even expanding the number of gas power plants. This is not okay, and they need to pay.

The town of Carrboro maintains a web page about this suit here. The page has links to various media outlets, including the New York Times and NPR, that have already covered the suit, as well as a youtube video of the press conference and an FAQ.

Having said that, I’d like to share a couple of the questions I had and the answers I got. Because this is pending litigation, I can’t share with you all of the questions I had, nor the answers I received. I’m confident, however, that everyone on Town Council is working on this in a manner and with an enthusiasm that everyone in Carrboro can have confidence in.

Question: is Carrboro paying for this? Answer: no. A nonprofit is paying the legal fees, and town staff have spent a minimal amount of time coordinating with the nonprofit on this.

Question: How did this start? Is this being driven by outside parties? Answer: filing this suit is the action of this Carrboro Town Council, and it started with the previous Town Council and Mayor. Carrboro has Climate Action & Environment as a top level item in the Carrboro Connects Comprehensive Plan that was adopted in 2022, and when Council was approached about the possibility of a suit, Council took on the work.

Again, I know folks will have more questions. I certainly did. Some can be answered by the FAQ, and others will take time as this suit progresses. I hope folks will stay engaged with Carrboro as we take other Climate Action steps and move forward with this suit.

I wish you joy, justice, and a little peace in this holiday season.

Warmly,

Cristóbal Palmer