Communities across the Commonwealth are suffering the impacts of flooding and Virginia’s RGGI proceeds provide dedicated funding to help localities prevent and protect against the damage caused by flooding. Virginia has received over $450 million from RGGI, providing over $200 million for flood resiliency efforts. Prior to Virginia joining RGGI in 2020, flood protection was left up to local and regional organizations with no central pool of funds from which governments could draw. Since joining RGGI, Virginia's Department of Conservation and Recreation, which administers the Community Flood Preparedness Fund, has begun providing grants thanks to the revenues. Half of the proceeds from energy producers' purchase of carbon-emission allowances also go towards low-income energy efficiency programs, helping to decrease the financial burden of climate change and the cost of fossil fuels on Virginia's most vulnerable residents.

The Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan projects that between 2020 and 2080, the number of residents in homes exposed to major coastal flooding will increase from around 360,000 to 943,000. With the growing impacts of coastal flooding, a dedicated funding source and clear plan to combat the impacts of flooding on Virginia residents should be a top priority for legislators and political leaders.

A bipartisan two-thirds of Virginia voters support RGGI's climate, energy, and economic initiatives. Consumer demand and decreasing costs for renewable energy are pushing the market towards renewable fuels and electricity. Withdrawing from RGGI will harm our ability to capitalize on that future market.