A North Carolina judge will hear arguments Thursday in a case that could chart new legal territory: whether an electric utility can be held responsible for the local costs of climate change.
The Town of Carrboro filed suit last year, accusing Duke Energy of deceiving the public about the dangers of fossil fuels, a strategy town leaders say delayed the clean-energy transition and left taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars in damages.
“We need to protect our community from future harms, and this is why we find ourselves here as a plaintiff in this lawsuit,” Carrboro Mayor Barbara Foushee said.
