North Carolina won big from Biden on climate. Do voters care?

People look at the destruction following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Swannanoa, North Carolina, U.S., October 3, 2024. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

People look at the destruction following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Swannanoa, North Carolina, U.S., October 3, 2024. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

What’s the context?

Reeling from Hurricane Helene, North Carolina has received billions from Biden. But will Kamala Harris benefit?

US Elections 2024: Read our full coverage.

  • Money for refuges, clean energy, manufacturing doled out
  • Climate not the top priority for voters, polling shows
  • Trump vows to halt Biden's green agenda

DARE COUNTY, North Carolina - Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina is one of several area refuges receiving cash from President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which contains billions for clean energy and climate resilience.

Rebekah Martin, with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, said one shoreline area "changes a little bit" every time she visits, underscoring how vulnerable the region is to climate change.

"In a place like this, you're definitely seeing continued erosion," she said, standing near a sound that borders the refuge. "We see all of the climate hazards as very real threats to this area."

North Carolina, a key battleground state in the November election, is particularly vulnerable to extreme weather and has only recently been hit by Hurricane Helene, which has killed more than 160 people nationwide and completely shut off remote towns.

Against this background, the IRA funding should provide welcome relief to locals as they prepare to vote in November.

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But polls show Americans are broadly unfamiliar with the bill and its benefits, while separate polling shows climate change is not the decisive topic in this election.

This could be an issue for Vice President Kamala Harris in North Carolina and the other handful of closely-fought states that could decide the election between her and former President Donald Trump.

Local environmental advocacy groups have launched a website to advise people in the Carolinas on how to take advantage of the funding available, but the information is taking time to spread.

"I would say most if not all people are very unaware about this," said Michelle Carter, more commonly known as "Meech", a director at the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters (LCV), an environmental advocacy group.

But once they walk people through the process to assist with things like direct application support, "we see such a high response rate," she said.

Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with Mayor of Augusta Garnett Johnson, during a visit to storm-damaged areas in the wake of Hurricane Helene, in Augusta, Georgia, U.S., October 2, 2024.

Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with Mayor of Augusta Garnett Johnson, during a visit to storm-damaged areas in the wake of Hurricane Helene, in Augusta, Georgia, U.S., October 2, 2024.

Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with Mayor of Augusta Garnett Johnson, during a visit to storm-damaged areas in the wake of Hurricane Helene, in Augusta, Georgia, U.S., October 2, 2024.

'Shot in the arm'

The IRA has pumped billions of dollars into clean energy, climate resilience efforts, and social services across the country since it passed in August 2022.

It was originally estimated to include climate-related spending of about $370 billion over 10 years, but the total estimated cost of clean energy provisions has ballooned to more than $1 trillion. Tax credits for initiatives like clean power have become popular among people looking, for example, to buy new electric vehicles or install solar panels on their property.

Climate Power, an advocacy group, estimates that more than $3.4 billion has been steered to North Carolina through Biden's climate agenda, including the IRA and the Biden-backed 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

The money is going toward policies seeking to address economic inequality, among other issues, such as the $156 million earmarked for the provision of solar energy to low-income households. But there are additional hurdles to trying to get the funds to where they are needed most, said Carter.

"When we're trying to help folks that are making $20,000 a year, they can't necessarily take on a loan to repair the roof so that they can be ready for 'Solar for All,'" Carter said, referring to a programme aimed at promoting the use of solar energy among low-income groups.

"So it's managing the acute needs of these communities in the structured environments that federal funding requires. It has been significantly challenging," she said.

Matt Abele, executive director of the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, a non-profit group, said there were major ongoing manufacturing investments and announcements in the state fuelled in part by the IRA and another major Biden-backed law known as the CHIPS and Science Act.

In the two years since Biden signed the IRA into law, there have been at least 22 clean-energy project announcements in North Carolina, translating to roughly $19.7 billion in investments and more than 10,000 jobs, according to an August report from E2, an advocacy group.

"It is really a shot in the arm for parts of the state that have historically been losing population, have been losing manufacturing jobs," Abele said.

A Texas A&M Task Force 1 member with a human remains search dog scans an area following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Burnsville, North Carolina, U.S., October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Marco Bello

A Texas A&M Task Force 1 member with a human remains search dog scans an area following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Burnsville, North Carolina, U.S., October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Marco Bello

A Texas A&M Task Force 1 member with a human remains search dog scans an area following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Burnsville, North Carolina, U.S., October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Marco Bello

The IRA also offers resilience funding through programmes like tax credits for clean energy, which is crucial for a state like North Carolina - part of a region that is particularly prone to floods and wildfires.

But the Biden administration's efforts haven't necessarily registered with much of the public at large, as many voters appear to be prioritising the economy and immigration over issues such as climate change.

Indeed, only 2% of 596 registered North Carolina voters considered climate change the most important issue in deciding their vote, according to a New York Times/Siena poll taken in September, before Helene struck.

Trump, meanwhile, reiterated his vow to try to rescind unspent climate funds if he's elected, during a campaign stop in North Carolina in August, before Hurricane Helene hit.

"What she did, what they did was like throwing billions of dollars out the window," he said of Harris, who as vice president cast the tie-breaking vote in the U.S. Senate to assist the IRA's passage.

'Change the trajectory'

As part of its climate-linked funding, the IRA allocated more than $27 million to the Fish & Wildlife Service to go toward restoration projects such as upgrading water management infrastructure to reduce the impact of saltwater intrusion at the Alligator River refuge.

Across the country, the IRA steered at least a quarter billion dollars to FWS for climate and conservation projects.

Martha Williams, director of the Fish & Wildlife Service, told Context that the IRA and other funding is critical for such projects - which may not necessarily grab headlines but are important to the lives and livelihoods of local residents.

"This investment allows us to get to those key restoration projects that make an enormous difference – they really change the trajectory of a place, or of a landscape, or of a watershed," said Williams, pointing to projects like replacing an aging boardwalk at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge or upgrading a culvert.

"I think we need to constantly keep in mind talking about our work and connecting it to people's daily lives," Williams said. "That's on us."   

(Reporting by David Sherfinski; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa.)


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Former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage to address supporters at a rally in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., November 6, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

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Updated: November 06, 2024


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