Climate change represents an existential threat to our people and our planet. 

As a state legislator, I voted to support clean energy alternatives, halt fracking, and implement measures to reduce emissions in North Carolina. In Congress, I was proud to vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in clean energy in American history. This transformational legislation will reduce carbon pollution, bolster community resilience, and create good-paying American jobs. In fact, according to some projections, the IRA will put America back on track to meet the ambitious goal set by President Obama of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent from 2005 levels by the end of the decade.

However, there are additional steps that the federal government should take in the face of this existential threat. Specifically, Congress should revisit a proposal passed by the House as part of an earlier version of the IRA to incentivize utilities to reduce emissions through a set of regulatory carrots and sticks. We must also continue the urgent process of building out a nationwide network of charging stations to facilitate the transition to electric vehicles.

In addition, offshore wind energy is one the best resources in our toolbox to combat climate change and unleash the power of American clean energy. I was proud that my provision to overturn the previous administration’s 10-year moratorium on offshore wind leasing in North Carolina and other states in the Southeast was included in the historic Inflation Reduction Act. 

North Carolina’s economy and way of life are rooted in our natural environment. Our state depends on a pristine coastline and a clean and healthy marine ecosystem to support robust tourism, recreation, and fishing economies—the lifelines of our coastal communities. I proudly introduced the Defend Our Coast Act to prevent offshore oil and gas drilling along the mid-Atlantic seaboard, and I will never stop fighting to protect North Carolina’s priceless environmental heritage for future generations.