Environment North Carolina’s legislative priorities for 2024

Four bills Environment North Carolina is advocating for during the short legislative session

Emily Mason | Used by permission
North Carolina Legislature

This year, the legislative session is short in North Carolina. However, some are speculating that the session may go longer than originally planned, giving more time to move bills forward before the next long session in 2025.

These bills align with Environment North Carolina’s program priorities for 2024, focusing on conservation, clean energy and plastic reduction. Environment North Carolina supports these bills which would protect wildlife and wild places, advance the transition to clean energy, and reduce waste in our state.

Wildlife and Wild Places

Environment North Carolina works to protect wildlife and wild places, which is why we support Senate Bill 318, the Native Plants Act. The Native Plants Act would encourage the planting of native plants such as Dogwood trees, Carolina Rose, and Butterfly-weed along highways in North Carolina. Not only are these native plants a lovely visual of our natural heritage, but they help our native wildlife survive and bring balance to the natural cycle of life in our state. 

Non-native plant species occupy every part of the United States, creating problems for humans and wildlife alike. Non-native plants clog waterways causing flooding, increase disease transmission among humans and wildlife, and crowd out native species which keep our ecosystems balanced. The Native Plants Act would protect our wildlife and wild places through supporting native habitat for our wildlife and by providing food for local pollinators, helping to save the bees of North Carolina. 

Butterfly-weed

Clean, Green, Renewable Energy

For decades, we have had the power to harness clean, abundant energy from the sun and in 2024, it can be done more efficiently and cheaply than ever before. One way in which North Carolina can advance in the transition to clean energy is by growing community solar across the state, providing an opportunity for those who do not own homes or cannot install solar panels to reap the benefits of abundant energy provided by the sun.

House Bill 535, the Solar Capacity Limit Increase bill, would help to grow community solar in North Carolina by allowing for more community solar to be available to North Carolina residents. Currently, there is a cap on how much community solar is allowed in North Carolina. This bill would raise that limit, allowing for solar companies to provide more solar to those who may not be able to install their own panels at their homes. Environment North Carolina supports the Solar Capacity Limit Increase bill as an important step forward to a clean, green renewable energy future in the state.

Yingna Cai | Shutterstock.com

Less Waste

Nothing we use for a few minutes should be allowed to pollute our oceans and rivers and threaten wildlife for centuries. Environment North Carolina supports House Bill 28, the NC Managing Environmental Waste Act of 2023, which would provide more reusable or compostable food container choices to government employees and to visitors of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) facilities such as zoos, museums and state parks. We also support House Bill 978, the Litter Reduction Act of 2024, which would encourage more recycling in North Carolina and reduce waste in landfills.

Plastic waste is a major issue in North Carolina. In Wake county alone, the South Wake Landfill is projected to be completely full by 2040. We must reduce our plastic waste, and bills which both encourage recycling of materials and reduce use of plastics can work in tandem to achieve this goal. These bills would make it easier for North Carolinians to make greener choices, leading the way to a less wasteful state.

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