Southeast

North Carolina

North Carolina is ranked 4th in the nation for solar energy generation, powering 9% of the state’s electricity supply in 2022. The transportation sector accounts for most of the state’s energy use due to the heavily trafficked highways and one of the nation’s busiest passenger airports. Overall, greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 26% from 2005-2021, with the biggest reductions from the state’s electricity sector.

GHG Reduction Targets

All targets relative to 2005 levels

2025

40%

2030

50%

2050

Net-zero

Governor

Roy Cooper (Democrat)

House Party

Republican Supermajority

Senate Party

Republican Supermajority

Legislative session

4/24/24 - 7/31/24

US Climate Alliance Status

Member

Key Offices & Links

22

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 6 policy areas

See all

40

Policy Opportunities

across 6 policy areas

See all

Southeast

14 states

This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Compare with other states

Progress by Policy Area

Enacted
In-progress
Partially Enacted
Not Enacted

Glossary of Terms

Status	Policy	Policy Area	Policy Category	YR Enacted
Enacted	Commercial Energy Codes Empty column The statewide energy code for commercial building construction is 2015 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2013 with amendments. Establishing Policies North Carolina State Energy Code (2018)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2018
Enacted	Residential Energy Codes Empty column The statewide energy code for residential construction is 2015 IECC. Establishing Policies North Carolina State Energy Code (2018)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2018
Not Enacted	Stretch Building Energy Codes Empty column Stretch building energy codes are an optional, more stringent building code established by the state that local jurisdictions can adopt to require that newly constructed buildings are more efficient than the baseline state codes.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes
Not Enacted	Appliance Standards Empty column Appliance standards set minimum energy and water conservation requirements for appliances and equipment.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Not Enacted	Building Performance Standards Empty column Building performance standards establish energy and/or greenhouse gas performance targets for existing buildings in a state. These targets increase in stringency over time, leading to efficiency improvements in buildings to conserve energy and reduce emissions.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Not Enacted	Clean Heat Standards Empty column Clean heat standards establish a performance standard requiring heat providers to deliver a gradually-increasing percentage of low-emission heating services to customers.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Enacted	Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS) Empty column Public electric utilities in the state must obtain renewable energy power and energy efficiency savings of 12.5% of 2020 retail sales in 2021 and thereafter. 40% of this requirement can be met with energy efficiency measures annually. Gas utilities are not subject to an EERS. Establishing Policies SB 3 (2007)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency	2007
Not Enacted	Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Empty column Property assessed clean energy (PACE) allows residential and/or commercial property owners to finance efficiency upgrades with loans tied to the property.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency
Partially Enacted	Weatherization Funding Empty column The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies SPOT - Weatherization Funding in North Carolina Policy Components not-enacted not-enacted enacted not-enacted 1/4	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency
Not Enacted	All-Electric Buildings Empty column All-electric buildings policies require new buildings to be constructed with all-electric heating, cooling, and cooking systems to transition away from fossil-fuel use in buildings.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Electrification

North Carolina

Key Offices & Links

22

40

Southeast

Progress by Policy Area

Climate Governance and Equity

Cross-Sector

Electricity

Buildings and Efficiency

Transportation

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management

Natural and Working Lands

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in North Carolina