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​NC DEBATE GUIDE

Winning On Climate Change In North Carolina Debates

STORY SPOTLIGHT

Omega Wilson lives in Mebane, North Carolina: Omega is the Principal Officer of the West End Revitalization Association (Alamance County’s first and only community development corporation). Omega highlights the long history of environmental racism in this country, discusses how old legacy toxic facilities have polluted his community in NC and explains how Trump’s anti-science agenda is hurting communities across the nation. 

WHY CLIMATE ACTION IS A WINNING ISSUE IN NORTH CAROLINA

The climate crisis is here. Scientists around the globe are warning us if we don’t heed the advice of experts and take action to address climate change, it may be too late to avoid catastrophic consequences. In North Carolina, the impacts of climate change will mean more droughts, stronger storms, rising sea levels, more flooding, hotter temperatures. The state’s agriculture, its economy, and people’s health will all be hurt.

  • North Carolina has seen eight hurricanes in the past decade that caused a total of $336.2 billion in damages and 551 deaths.
  • Currently, more than 450,000 people are at risk of inland flooding in North Carolina.
  • Studies show Black North Carolinians are almost twice as likely to live near an EPA-registered polluter than white residents.  

That is why it is critical to have a robust discussion about how we tackle the climate crisis and fight for environmental justice during debates. Strong majorities of North Carolinians (and American voters) believe climate change is happening now and are worried about its effects.

  • In the past decade, North Carolina has experienced 35 climate-related disasters responsible for a total of $405.6 billion in damages.  

IF YOU SAY ONE THING

The climate crisis is here, and it’s already hurting our economy, our health, and our security. We cannot afford to wait any longer to act. Thom Tillis is in denial – and that rejection of science and fact will doom our children to a future filled with droughts, flooding, food and water shortages, and more. 

  • In a 2014 debate, Tillis referred to climate change as “false science.”
  • Tillis voted against an amendment that would have expressed the Sense of Congress that climate change is real, and that man-made pollution is a significant contributor to climate change.
  • Tillis said he was “extremely disappointed” in the Obama administration’s decision to protect North Carolina’s coasts from offshore drilling.
  • Tillis has been silent on President Trump’s decision to exclude North Carolina from a recently announced moratorium on offshore drilling in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

You don’t have to wait for a question about climate change 

Climate change not only touches but exacerbates nearly every major issue that might come up in the debate; including the economy, health care, national security, foreign policy and trade, immigration, justice, and civil rights.