Cheri believes that tackling the climate crisis is imperative to our health, economy, and security, and the consequences of inaction are already hurting the people of our state. Longer and more damaging hurricane seasons and extreme weather events shut down roads, cause utility prices to skyrocket, damages our military bases and grind local businesses to a halt. In the past several years alone, North Carolina has experienced multiple devastating hurricanes and storms that have left us with enormous economic damage.

Cheri supports investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, expanding our renewable energy industry and ensuring that workers across North Carolina receive the training they need for clean energy jobs.  There is also more to be done modernizing our electrical grid and building codes to increase energy efficiency.  Cheri will support efforts to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030.

Cheri will fight for hurricane relief and recovery funding that helps North Carolina not only recover from storms but also build back stronger and more resilient. Under Governor Cooper, North Carolina has put forward an ambitious plan to combat climate change that requires support on a federal level. We must also act with urgency to protect North Carolina’s natural beauty for future generations and prevent efforts to drill off of North Carolina’s coast.

North Carolina is the birthplace of the environmental justice movement, and Cheri believes that we must take action to address systemic disproportionate impacts of climate change and pollution on vulnerable communities in North Carolina. She believes all North Carolinians have the right to live in safe and healthy communities with clean air, clean water, and improved waste infrastructure — especially in communities of color, low-income and indigenous communities.