Climate change and its implications on human health and well-being are real. People alive today risk living in an unpredictable environment with long droughts, massive storms, and thick air pollution. Carbon-based sources of electricity contaminate the global atmosphere with greenhouse gases and our beautiful commonwealth of Virginia with air pollution. 

Climate change and air pollution are both associated with harm to almost every system in the body including the heart, lungs, and brain. And this is not theoretical, people (patients) are harmed today by climate change and air pollution even here at home in Virginia. 

Renewable sourcing of electricity is the future--RGGI is a market-based solution designed to advance the decarbonization of our state's power grid. RGGI helps Virginia create a more modern energy grid by charging a per unit price those who opt to pollute more than their fair-share, and re-investing that money in the citizens and infrastructure that is harmed by the pollution. 

By abandoning RGGI and maintaining antiquated modes of electricity generation, we risk being shortsighted and saddling our children with financial and health costs that exponentially exceed the investment costs of RGGI.