Virginia’s Air Pollution Control Board has taken a definitive step to withdraw the commonwealth from a multi-state climate change initiative
(The Center Square) – A Virginia regulatory board took a major step toward removing Virginia from participation in a multistate carbon credit program that former Gov. Ralph Northam entered in 2020.
The Virginia Air Pollution Control Board voted 4-1 to support a regulation to end Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Two members abstained because they did not believe the board had the authority to move forward with leaving RGGI without legislative approval.
RGGI reduces carbon emissions over a period of several years by capping the amount of carbon that can be emitted within the state and by individual entities. An entity that needs to emit more carbon can buy a limited number of carbon credits, but the number of available credits goes down annually. Failure to stay below one’s allotted carbon emissions can yield hefty fines.
Most of the credits are bought by public energy utilities, which means ratepayers are forced to pay more money. Dominion Energy, the state’s largest energy utility, increased rates to pay for the higher costs of providing energy, but has since asked a regulatory board to halt the increase due to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s plan to leave RGGI. The State Corporations Commission estimates that, if RGGI remains in effect, it will cost nearly $6 billion and cause rates to increase between $84 and $144 annually.
The board’s move has frustrated environmental groups who have claimed the governor does not have the authority to leave RGGI without legislative approval.
“Youngkin’s foolhardy attempt to run roughshod over Virginia’s pollution law on behalf of his out-of-state fossil fuel political donors only shows that he has put his own political ambitions above protecting the everyday Virginians he was elected to serve,” Walton Shepherd, the Virginia Policy Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement. “Youngkin’s unlawful attack on Virginia’s climate law is reckless, and imperils Virginans’ pocketbooks as well as our climate future.”
Although the General Assembly voted to authorize the participation of RGGI, opponents of the program have argued that the law does not require Virginia to participate in the program. They argue that the executive branch has full authority to end the commonwealth’s participation.
The governor’s decision to leave RGGI through his executive power will likely face a legal challenge.
Originally published by The Center Square. Republished with permission.
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