Note: This article was was last updated on 14 July 2023
In 2020, Virginia’s General Assembly voted to enter the state into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The then governor, Ralph Northam (D), sought to enter the state into the regional carbon market as a means of helping the state achieve its GHG reduction targets – most notably its goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2045. Only a year after its initial participation in RGGI auctions in 2021, the newly elected governor, Glen Youngkin (R), initiated the process of withdrawing the state from RGGI on the grounds of its negative impact on ratepayers. As the second-highest emitting state in RGGI, its exit may not only weaken the scope of RGGI’s influence but pose a greater challenge for Virginia to achieve its climate targets.
On the way out On 7 June, the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board (APCB) voted 4-3 in favor of the governor’s repeal of Virginia’s entrance into RGGI. Those opposed to the cap-and-trade program claim that it imposes an unfair tax on power utilities and t…
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