CHARLOTTE — Vice President Kamala Harris visited Charlotte on Thursday.
Harris spoke at the Naomi Drennan Center about the Biden administration’s investments in climate change.
“Every community has the ability to participate in the clean energy economy, but not all communities have the ability to participate,” Harris said.
The Biden campaign has invested heavily in North Carolina, and its Charlotte office is one of 10 in the state.
She then officially opened the Biden campaign’s field office.
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One of the first places Harris visited in Charlotte was Lavon’s Greer Heights home.
He told Channel 9 that before moving, he was paying hundreds of dollars a month for gas and electricity.
“This house is not just a safe place for everyone, it’s a safe place for me,” Chabon said. “Sometimes my friends say, ‘I don’t want to go there, I don’t want to go there.’ It’s cold.'”
His lush home was purchased with help from Community Bank Self-Help. The nonprofit organization is helping him build 49 homes in the Greer Heights community and plans to build thousands more across the country thanks to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
As part of the Inflation Control Act, the funding is intended to ensure that areas like Greer Heights are not excluded from the act’s large-scale clean energy investments.
This funding will help homes and businesses in low-income and historically disenfranchised areas become more energy efficient with better insulation, windows, and appliances.
“We’re talking about real people with dreams and aspirations. This is a big deal,” Harris explained.
[ ALSO READ: President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss healthcare in North Carolina ]
While in Charlotte, Harris announced a $20 billion award to support climate change and clean energy projects. This includes decentralized clean generation and storage, net-zero retrofitting of homes and small businesses, zero-emission transportation, and more.
Harris will then open a field office in uptown Charlotte. It is one of 10 in the state.
North Carolina was the closest state President Joe Biden lost in 2020. Political experts say they expect the Biden-Harris campaign to fight hard and invest heavily in the state.
The Biden campaign has so far invested $30 million in advertising in North Carolina. Experts say that number will continue to grow.
Biden and Harris are expected to make several more visits to the Tar Heel State.
(See below: How a new type of sand on the Outer Banks can help fight climate change)
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