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10 <br /> and this plan is outlined for every state and 139 countries. She said North Carolina has access <br /> to wind and solar power. <br /> Commissioner Marcoplos said his son and nephew went to Appalachian State <br /> University because it is a national leader in training and education about alternative energies. <br /> He said there are local solar companies that are hiring these graduates, and the market will <br /> only increase. <br /> Kathy Kaufman said coal is on the decline and will not return, due to cost and impact <br /> on the environment. She said natural gas employment is the bigger issue. She said the <br /> number of jobs in this arena is dwarfed by jobs in energy efficiency, solar, and other alternative <br /> energies. <br /> Commissioner Price thanked the public speakers, David Stancil, DEAPR Director and <br /> Commission for the Environment for taking the time to craft this resolution, and this is just the <br /> beginning of this conversation. <br /> Commissioner McKee said he is not questioning the benefit of this resolution and <br /> movement, but his main concern is that millions of jobs will go away before the transition into <br /> clean energy is complete. <br /> Commissioner Marcoplos said County staff is focused on opportunities for clean <br /> energy, and are on the right track. He said the BOCC supported the light rail, which will <br /> mitigate climate change, as does the rural buffer. <br /> Commissioner Marcoplos said it is very important to move towards municipality owned <br /> utilities, and get out from under State private utilities. <br /> RESOLUTION OF THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS IN SUPPORT OF <br /> A LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL GOAL OF 100% CLEAN ENERGY BY 2050 <br /> AND THE CREATION OF GREEN JOBS <br /> Whereas, climate change has increased the global average surface temperature by <br /> 1.00 degrees Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1880; and <br /> Whereas, climate change is expected to increasingly impact North Carolina's <br /> temperatures, precipitation and sea level with harmful consequences in coming years; and <br /> Whereas, climate change and global average temperature increases are primarily due <br /> to human-caused fossil fuels emissions, including coal, oil and natural gas, according to the <br /> United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, National Academy of Sciences, <br /> American Meteorological Society, United States Environmental Protection Agency, United <br /> States Department of Defense, and numerous other leading scientific, academic and <br /> governmental authorities both in the United States and internationally; and <br /> Whereas, a final agreement of the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP21), <br /> which included the United States and a total of 195 nations, was reached in Paris, France on <br /> December 12, 2015, that states the aim is to "holding the increase in the global average <br /> temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels and pursuing efforts to <br /> limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels" and entered <br /> into force on November 4, 2016; and <br /> Whereas, scientists have concluded the concentration of carbon dioxide, the leading <br /> greenhouse gas, in the Earth's atmosphere is currently and consistently over 400 parts per <br />