Dear Air Pollution Control Board,

Please stay in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative! The Hampton Roads region is the region most effected sea level rise on the east coast. Flooding impacts many regions to the point where they are no longer able to leave for work or had to walk to class with flooding up to our knees. It is crucial for us to stay in the pact to decrease emissions in order to protect our people. Plus, it does not negatively impact our electricity prices. States participating in RGGI have largely experienced a drop in electricity prices by as much as 6% compared to non RGGI states energy prices rising 9%. Plus, cap and trade programs for carbon do not limit GDP. For example, California has a similar cap and trade program and have found that their GDP has rose from 2,219.61 billion in 2013 to 2,722.84 billion in 2020. Even if it did slightly rise prices, the low-income energy efficiency programs are able to offset and reduce energy prices with upgrades! In addition, it saves money in the long term by reducing the impacts of climate change. According to the World Economic Forum, extreme weather events, exacerbated by climate change, is the number one threat to global GDP. Climate disasters have already affected North America by estimates of $415 billion in the last three years from climate related natural disasters. In high temperature scenarios, climate is predicted to impact the US by $520 billion each year.

Plus, the urban heat island effect is a huge issue in urban communities, especially those marginalized. My friends at Virginia Wesleyan University found GIS data that show a relationship between higher temperatures from the urban heat island effect in low income/ marginalized communities. Although a little bit of warming over all does not sound like much, it has a dramatic impact. Often it is not the overall temperature increasing by a little bit, but more days that are extreme heat. These extreme temperature dates have negative impacts on crops, plants, and human health. Climate change is predicted to decrease corn yields by 10-41% which will have an extreme impact. In Richmond as of 2014, there were 5.8 more days over 95 degrees a year. Heat wave mortality risk increased 2.49 percent for every one degree F increase in heat wave intensity and 0.38 percent for every 1-day increase in heat wave duration. Please keep us in the RGGI. Our communities need it.