Action | Repeal CO 2 Budget Trading Program as required by Executive Order 9 (Revision A22) |
Stage | Proposed |
Comment Period | Ended on 3/31/2023 |
Withdrawing Virginia from RGGI jeopardizes our low- to moderate-income families by removing a vital and irreplaceable funding source that supports energy efficiency and health and safety upgrades to the most vulnerable segments of the population.
With unprecedented droughts, wildfires, floods and heat waves impacting communities nationwide, it’s clear that climate change is not a threat in some distant future – we’re dealing with its ramifications today. Virginians know this well, having experienced eight different billion-dollar disaster events (three tropical cyclones, four severe storms, and one winter storm) in 2021 alone. Consequently, it’s imperative that we act immediately to address the climate crisis. Virginia took a major step toward doing just that by linking to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in 2021 – a step Governor Youngkin has, alarmingly, indicated he wants to reverse.