I am an Arlington resident and am strong opposed to leaving RGGI on both legal and policy grounds.

From a legal perspective, it was the expressed will of the General Assembly for Virginia to participate in RGGI. Only an act of the General Assembly can change that. Virginia Code 10.1-1330 overrides any regulatory action and should be followed.

From a policy perspective, RGGI provides important funds such as to mitigate flood damage in all parts of Virginia from Alexandria to Buchanan. The supposed costs of RGGI is more than made up for in flood resiliency and reduced costs to combat the challenges from climate change. 

In short, this action is unjustified from a legal and policy stand point. Virginia needs to be a leader in the 21st clean energy economy and this action will not achieve that. 

Sam Shirazi, Arlington resident