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Background on the 100% Clean Energy and Green Jobs Resolution
<br />for the Orange County Board of Commissioners
<br />• The Resolution calls for the State of North Carolina and the United States to establish a transition
<br />from a fossil fuel -based economy to a 100% clean renewable energy for all energy sectors -based
<br />economy, by January 1, 2050 or sooner to avoid climate catastrophe, to promote job creation and
<br />economic growth, and to protect the Earth for current and future generations from climate
<br />catastrophe.
<br />• Achieving this goal would result in the total phase out of fossil fuels by 2050 for energy use.
<br />• Numerous scientists, policymakers, business and faith leaders, environmentalists and others have
<br />stated that we are in a "climate emergency."
<br />• The use of fossil fuels by society is the primary cause of climate change according to leading
<br />scientific, academic and governmental organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences,
<br />Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Defense, United Nations Intergovernmental
<br />Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and numerous other authorities.
<br />• Climate change leads to rising sea levels through the melting of the glaciers and an increase in the
<br />severity and frequency of flooding, wildfires, droughts, heatwaves, infectious diseases among other
<br />disastrous impacts that can lead to death and dire economic impacts if not stopped. Human - induced
<br />climate change can only be stopped by phasing out fossil fuels, which cause greenhouse gas
<br />emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane. These emissions trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere
<br />and oceans according to an overwhelming scientific consensus.
<br />• In December 2015, nearly 200 nations, including the United States, signed a climate agreement in
<br />Paris, France to phase out all fossil fuels and to keep the global temperature increase since the 19"'
<br />Century to well below 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to keep it below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
<br />North Carolina is second in the nation in solar capacity behind California and also has the biggest
<br />potential for offshore wind energy on the Eastern Seaboard.
<br />This resolution has been endorsed by the North Carolina Climate Solutions Coalition (NCCSC), a
<br />group dedicated to fight climate change and support clean energy, which consists of the following
<br />organizations: Climate Voices US, Justice Action Mobilization Network, Hip Hop Caucus, The
<br />Climate Times, Sustainable Sandhills, The Canary Coalition, Beyond Extreme Energy, Divestment
<br />Student Network, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL), NC Power Forward, Temple
<br />Emanuel Environmental Movement, Appalachian Voices, and the Long Branch Environmental
<br />Education Center. The Coalition is led by Boone, NC resident Dr. Harvard Ayers, Professor Emeritus
<br />of Anthropology at Appalachian State University.
<br />The Advisory Committee for the North Carolina Climate Solutions Coalition includes internationally
<br />recognized scientists and author /activist: Dr. Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric
<br />Science, Penn State University; Dr. Robert Howarth, David R. Atkinson Professor of Ecology and
<br />Environmental Biology, Cornell University; Dr. George Woodwell, Founder and Director Emeritus of
<br />the Woods Hole Research Center; Dr. Mark Z. Jacobson, Professor of Civil and Environmental
<br />Engineering, Director of the Atmosphere /Energy Program, Stanford University; Bill McKibben,
<br />author, climate activist, Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College, Founder of 350.org;
<br />and Dr. Richard Gray, Professor of Physics, Appalachian State University.
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