Climate activists block governor’s mansion, call Stein ‘complicit’ with Duke Energy
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Climate activists call for an end to Duke Energy’s fossil-fuel expansion.
- Activists accused Gov. Josh Stein of being complicit in policies worsening hurricanes.
- Stein has chastised the company previously.
Climate activists blocked the entrance to the Governor’s Mansion Wednesday, calling for an end to Duke Energy’s fossil-fuel expansion and accusing Gov. Josh Stein of being “complicit” in policies that intensify hurricanes, wildfires and drought.
By 3 p.m., six activists associated with Durham-based nonprofit NC Warn had occupied the Blount Street gate for three hours, resisting three requests to move from Capitol police. They later moved to a lower and more heavily trafficked gate on Jones Street.
No arrests have yet been made.
“We are here in good conscience,” said Jim Warren, executive director of NC Warn. “We ask that the government tell the truth about Duke Energy as a climate polluter. ... Instead, he keeps repeating the corporate propaganda.”
NC Warn pointed to Duke Energy’s planned 12,000 megawatt fossil fuel expansion as part of a 50-year strategy to ignore climate change data — including its own research — while touting plans to become carbon-neutral by 2050.
Warren said the 2050 plan is “bogus” and irrelevant considering the damage North Carolina will suffer in the next two decades.
Protesters also pointed to Duke calling for a rate hike while earning nearly $5 billion in 2025.
Stein has opposed this hike and accused Duke of backing away from clean energy policies.
“Duke Energy’s proposed rate hike is simply too high and comes as the company is also retreating on more affordable clean energy,” Stein said in December. “At a time when families are struggling to make ends meet, we should be doing everything we can to make life more affordable, not less. I will continue to fight on behalf of every North Carolinian to lower costs and grow the economy.”
Asked Wednesday, a spokesperson said the Governor has vetoed the General Assembly’s bill that would increase utility bills, shift costs of industrial users to residential ratepayers and slow efforts to bring down emissions.
“After lawmakers overrode his veto,” the spokesperson said, “Governor Stein supported Attorney General Jackson’s efforts to challenge Duke Energy’s excessive rate hikes and called on the Utilities Commission to require significant changes to Duke Energy’s Carolinas Resource Plan, which retreated on affordable clean energy. The state needs an energy system that protects consumers, reduces pollution, and supports economic growth.”
Warren on Wednesday called the governor’s effort insufficient and said Duke is “forcing us to pay for our own demise.”
More than 60 scientists wrote an open letter to Stein in April warning of “climate catastrophe,” urging him to speak out on Duke’s reliance on fossil fuels and reluctance to transition to renewable energy.
At a rally before the six protesters blocked the gate, roughly 20 more joined the chorus for louder environmental truth.
“As the hurricane season rapidly approaches, the stress of living in what has become Hurricane Alley haunts us,” said Bobby Jones, an environmental justice advocate from Goldsboro. “We should no longer be forced by Duke Energy to finance our own demise.”
Neither Stein’s office nor Duke have yet issued a response.
This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Climate activists block governor’s mansion, call Stein ‘complicit’ with Duke Energy."