Carrboro town officials filed a lawsuit against Charlotte-based Duke Energy Wednesday morning, accusing the company — one of the country's largest operators of coal and natural gas power plants — of leading a "nationwide climate deception scheme" that has worsened the climate crisis and cost the town millions.

The North Carolina town alleges that Duke executives knew greenhouse gases were harmful as early as 1968 and continued to promote their use.

A town in North Carolina sued utility firm Duke Energy on Wednesday, accusing the company of deceiving its customers and the broader public about the harms of climate change.

In October, Oregon’s Multnomah county, which includes Portland, became the first municipality to sue a utility over climate deception when it added the regional gas provider NW Natural to its 2023 lawsuit against fossil fuel corporations for fueling a fatal 2021 heat dome.

Carrboro is suing Duke Energy over its contributions to climate change and the resulting economic pressures put onto the local government.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) -1.4% in Monday's trading after the North Carolina Utilities Commission approved a request to lower residential customers' costs by 4.5%, thanks to declining fuel prices. Duke (DUK) said a typical residential customer in North Carolina using 1,

The lawsuit seeks to hold Duke Energy accountable for "the damages inflicted on the town by the corporation's campaign to delay the transition from plant-heating fossil fuels to renewable energy," leaders with the Town of Carrboro said in a release on Tuesday.

Carrboro accused Duke, one the nation’s largest utility companies, of ignoring data about climate change while increasing use of fossil fuels.

Carrboro, N.C., accuses Duke of knowingly fueling the climate crisis for decades with harmful emissions, deception, delay and ‘greenwashing’

A small North Carolina town is suing Duke Energy for costs from climate change, claiming the utility knew its fossil fuel power plants were heating the planet and deceived the public.

A small town in North Carolina accuses Duke Energy of running a decadeslong “deception campaign” to mislead the public about its commitment to clean energy while remaining one of the country’s largest greenhouse gas emitters.