State Climate Change Interagency Council Heads To Winston-Salem

A group tasked with fighting climate change is meeting in Winston-Salem this week. It's part of the state's plan to reduce greenhouse gases by 40 percent before 2025.

Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order last fall, directing state agencies to create specific plans for meeting those goals. For example, the N.C. Department of Transportation is looking at ways to increase the number of registered, zero-emission vehicles.

The order also established what's called the North Carolina Climate Change Interagency Council. It allows key stakeholders to interact and work together during the process. Their meeting in Winston-Salem will provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the various proposals.

“It's a chance for the agencies to provide updates on the items that they have due on October 1st,” says Sharon Martin, Director of Public Affairs for the Department of Environmental Quality. “For example, for DEQ, that's an update on the Clean Energy Plan, so it will look at how we integrate more clean energy resources and how we need to modernize our electric grid.”

The meeting will take place at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 16.

Environmental groups say they also plan to hold a rally outside the event to push for more clean energy policies in the state.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news