Update (Feb. 13, 2026) - A judge ruled against the Town of Carrboro in its lawsuit against Duke Energy, which aimed to hold the utility provider accountable for its role in climate change and sought damages suffered by extreme weather events.
As of March 2026, the Town of Carrboro has chosen not to appeal the dismissal, opting instead to urge North Carolina Governor Josh Stein to intervene in Duke Energy's expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure.
The Carrboro lawsuit was a landmark legal event, primarily because it was the first time a U.S. municipality sued its own electric utility for climate-related damages.
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Like communities across the U.S., Carrboro has been battered by climate change, which has caused significant harm to the town and its infrastructure. Experts expect the trend of more extreme weather, including higher temperatures and stronger storms, will increase in the region over the coming years. The Carrboro Town Council’s job is to prevent and mitigate hazards to public health, safety, welfare and the environment. Carrboro has been working for years to fight climate change and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, including setting emissions-reductions targets and installing energy efficient technologies, while extreme weather events like Hurricane Helene have pummeled the region.
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On Dec. 4, 2024, an outside attorney who is partnering with the Town of Carrboro, sued Duke Energy Corp. for the company’s decades-long role leading a nationwide climate deception scheme that has worsened the climate crisis, harmed the community and cost the town millions of dollars. The lawsuit seeks to hold Duke Energy accountable for the damages inflicted on Carrboro by the corporation’s campaign to delay the transition from planet-heating fossil fuels to renewable energy.
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Download photos from the (12/04/2024) news conference (credit Town of Carrboro, NC) - https://adobe.ly/49oIxcR
