The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce supports the decision of the Air Pollution Control Board to withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).  

The Chamber supports an “all of the above” energy approach that balances the need for environmental responsibility with reliable and affordable energy prices for all Virginia consumers.  We believe that Virginia’s membership in RGGI places Virginia – and our region – at a competitive disadvantage compared to non-participating states as it relates to economic development.

RGGI acts as a tax on all consumers regardless of what steps a person or business may take to reduce energy consumption or their carbon footprint.  It is this RGGI-imposed tax on electricity that can inhibit energy-intensive business attraction and expansion – with the main beneficiaries being our competitor states.  We believe that resilient energy infrastructure can be produced without burdening residential and business consumers with artificially inflated energy prices.

In sum, the Roanoke Regional Chamber believes that Virginia’s membership in RGGI is unnecessarily costly to consumers and that decarbonization of our electric grid can be accomplished in a less burdensome manner.  We must incentivize business investment in Virginia in order to further grow our economy; a task that will be made easier should the Commonwealth withdraw from RGGI.