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

22

Policies Enacted or In Progress
across 6 policy areas

40

Policy Opportunities
across 6 policy areas

Southeast

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

Progress by Policy Area

  • Enacted
  • In-progress
  • Partially Enacted
  • Not Enacted
Glossary of Terms
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in North Carolina

Created in partnership with
Filters
Status Policy Policy Area Policy Category YR Enacted
Enacted
Empty column

The statewide energy code for residential construction is 2015 IECC.

Buildings and Efficiency
Building Codes 2018
Enacted
Empty column

The statewide energy code for commercial building construction is 2015 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2013 with amendments.

Buildings and Efficiency
Building Codes 2018
Not Enacted
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
Empty column

Appliance standards set minimum energy and water conservation requirements for appliances and equipment.

Buildings and Efficiency
Building Standards
Not Enacted
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
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
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
Buildings and Efficiency
Building Efficiency 2007
Not Enacted
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
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.

Policy Components
not-enacted
not-enacted
enacted
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1/4
Buildings and Efficiency
Building Efficiency
Not Enacted
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

The State Climate Policy Dashboard tracks only passed policies and does not include bills currently proposed in legislative sessions. The website is intended to illustrate the current status of policies for each state, as well as key resources and model states for each policy.

Much of the information contained in this database is derived from the public domain, with links to resources provided. The information provided is made available solely for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Click here for full Terms of Use.

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