Letter to the Editor from Drew Shindell and Dale Evarts:
It’s time for leaders across the country to stop the expansion of natural gas infrastructure.
Duke Energy is planning to spend billions building dozens of natural gas power plants in the Carolinas, which are damaging to public health while countering efforts to slow climate change.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that societies must complete nearly half the transition to a net-zero carbon economy during the next decade to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
The power plants and pipelines planned by Duke would operate far beyond that timeline. This build-out of gas is also financially risky for ratepayers and investors, who may be saddled with higher costs and stranded assets as markets keep shifting to less costly wind and solar matched with battery storage, which is quickly solving the intermittency challenge of renewables. This transition is creating thousands of good jobs.
We’ve called on Gov. Roy Cooper to impose a moratorium on new natural gas infrastructure in N.C. and lead an effort to do the same across the country. The global community needs bold leadership at this critical time.
Drew Shindell
Duke University, Earth Sciences professor
Dale Evarts
Former director, EPA Climate and International Group