ROUNDUP: Court Rules in Favor of RGGI
BIG WIN: The Circuit Court of Floyd County ruled that the regulatory action removing Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative was “unlawful and without effect.” The court explained that the “only body with the authority to repeal the RGGI Regulation would be the General Assembly . . . because a statute, the RGGI Act, requires the RGGI Regulation to exist.”
The decision comes after the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board unlawfully voted to repeal Virginia’s participation in RGGI in June 2023. Since then, our Network has been fighting to maintain Virginia’s participation in RGGI. Our Partners at SELC, on behalf of its client the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals, have been in a legal battle against the Air Pollution Control Board, DEQ, and its Director for illegally repealing the RGGI Regulation.
WHY SHOULD VIRGINIA PARTICIPATE IN RGGI?
The Virginia General Assembly passed the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act in 2020 which allowed Virginia to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Virginia joined 10 other participating states in the successful cap-and-invest regional program that drives down carbon pollution while generating new revenue by charging utilities for their pollution. Before the Youngkin Administration started a campaign to pull Virginia out of the program, Virginia’s greenhouse gas emissions from power plants dropped by 22%—precisely the point of the program.
RGGI revenue generated more than $827.7 million for Virginia between 2021 and 2023. By law, these funds are divided between two statewide programs, a low-income energy efficiency program and a flood resilience capacity building and project implementation program.
Virginia must rejoin RGGI because:
- RGGI is delivering cleaner air for Virginians. Carbon pollution went down 22% while Virginia participated in RGGI.
- RGGI is the law. The 2020 Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act requires Virginia’s participation in RGGI.
- RGGI is bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars every year, helping Virginians all across the state. Low-income families are slashing their energy bills thanks to efficiency upgrades, and localities are finally able to address flooding issues. Losing this funding creates a massive hole in the budget.
Statements from the Community
Virginia Conservation Network Partners and other stakeholders released the following statements regarding the court’s ruling on RGGI. Check back for more statements.
Last updated on November 22nd, 2024.
Virginia Conservation Network
“Our Network has been saying all along that the Youngkin administration’s attempts to repeal Virginia’s participation in RGGI was unlawful, and we’re excited to see the Court rule in favor of our Partners at Southern Environmental Law Center. RGGI works: Virginia saw a 22% decrease in carbon emissions and raised over $800 million for flood preparedness and energy efficiency programs while in RGGI. The Commonwealth must rejoin the program as soon as possible to continue to protect ourselves from the reality of climate change.”
–Mary Rafferty, Executive Director
“Today the Court confirmed that the Air Board, DEQ, and its director unlawfully removed Virginia from RGGI. The law requires RGGI and Virginians deserve RGGI. We hope that following the ruling, Virginia will get back into this statutorily-required program as quickly as possible.”
– Nate Benforado, Senior Attorney
“We’re pleased with this decision. A significant portion of RGGI proceeds were allocated by the General Assembly to the Community Flood Preparedness Fund to help communities prepare for and prevent catastrophic flooding. Getting back into RGGI as quickly as possible will help communities across the state prepare for, and hopefully prevent, damaging flooding from the next storm.”
–Matt Allenbaugh, Virginia Campaign Coordinator
Association of Energy Conservation Professionals
“All along we knew that the actions taken by the Air Board and DEQ were wrong. This is a win for communities across Virginia who have benefited from the state’s participation in RGGI in the past and those that now will have a chance to continue to see those benefits.”
–Billy Weitzenfeld, former Executive Director
CASA
“Rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a vital step toward addressing the challenges faced by low-income communities in Virginia.
This is more than an environmental policy—it’s a chance to build a future where all communities can thrive in a cleaner, more equitable environment. Renewing Virginia’s commitment to RGGI offers hope for sustainable progress that prioritizes justice and improves the quality of life for those who need it most.
– Eduardo Zelaya, Virginia State Director Of Organizing
“We are pleased by the court’s decision to ensure RGGI can continue to deliver for Virginia. As clean energy manufacturing and deployment surges across the U.S., policies like RGGI can only help to attract investment into the Commonwealth. Ceres looks forward to working with the Youngkin administration and other policymakers to fully capitalize on those opportunities.”
–Anne Kelly, Vice President of Government Relations
“Today’s decision is a testament to the legislative accomplishments of the General Assembly and their incredible work to protect our health and environment. RGGI is critical, proven, and overwhelmingly popular. More importantly, it is the law. Today, I want to especially extend our thanks to state Delegate Charniele Herring and former Senator Lynwood Lewis, who were the patrons that introduced and passed this strong climate law.”
– Victoria Higgins, Virginia Director
Climate Action Alliance of the Valley
“The Climate Action Alliance of the Valley welcomes the Court’s action. In our ongoing work to promote weatherization and energy efficiency improvements for disadvantaged, energy-burdened Shenandoah Valley residents, we have seen firsthand how RGGI proceeds are put to effective use by the service provider, Community Housing Partners. Those funds provide essential home improvements that lower energy bills. Recent severe flooding in Virginia has made clear why using RGGI funds for flood resiliency preparedness must also be a priority.”
–Joy Loving
“We are pleased with the court’s decision. RGGI is a cost-effective and proven approach for swiftly cutting climate pollution from Virginia’s power plants. Virginia’s participation in RGGI brought millions of dollars in investments to our communities to fund crucial flood preparedness and energy efficiency programs.”
–Emily Steinhilber, Virginia Director, Coasts and Watersheds
Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions
All religious traditions stress humanityʼs responsibility for caring for the human family and all life. At FACS, we believe that addressing climate change and eliminating greenhouse gasses are urgent moral imperatives. We are grateful for the legislators that voted for RGGI, the governor that signed the legislation into law, and the judge who recognized that a law could not be ignored by partisan politics.
—Scott Peterson, Chair of the Board of Directors
“This is what happens when politicians recklessly pander to corporate polluters, rather than assure Virginians’ safety and well-being: they learn they are not above the law. Now that Youngkin’s cynical misadventure in bad governance has come to its predictable end, it is time to finally move forward. Virginia can now rejoin RGGI, tackle climate change, and protect against even more catastrophic flooding. As we witness the grim toll of the increasingly dangerous weather in a warming world, today’s decision is good news for all Virginians.”
—Walton Shepherd, Senior Attorney for Climate & Energy
Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
“Today’s decision is a win for everyone who believes that one Governor can’t just sidestep laws they don’t agree with. The Court was clear, the Governor’s repeal attempt was illegal. Virginia can now go back to experience the incredible benefits of RGGI.”
–Connor Kish, Executive Director
Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action
“As clinicians in Virginia, we celebrate this decision. RGGI has a proven track record of improving health. Reduced power plant pollution due to RGGI has prevented hundreds of premature deaths, thousands of asthma exacerbations, and tens of thousands of lost work days in participating and neighboring states while saving billions in healthcare dollars. Virginians can now expect to have cleaner air and healthier lives as a result of our participation in this program.”
–Samantha Ahdoot, MD, Chair of the Board of Directors
“The Virginia Energy Efficiency Council (VAEEC) applauds the Circuit Court ruling in favor of the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals (AECP), stating that the Governor’s regulatory action to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) was unlawful. As participation in RGGI was codified by the General Assembly, this ruling validates that only the legislature can withdraw the Commonwealth. The VAEEC looks forward to having these critical funds return to help serve Virginians across the state.”
Virginia Interfaith Power & Light
“We believed all along that removing Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative was unlawful. We are delighted by this decision! All Virginians are the benefactors when we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.”
“Following this decision, Virginia should immediately re-join RGGI so that Virginians can start benefiting from this program again. RGGI has always been good for Virginia and we hope the administration resumes our participation as quickly as possible,”
–Faith Harris, Executive Director
“Virginia’s membership in RGGI gave the Commonwealth a critical tool to combat the climate crisis, hold polluters accountable, protect communities against flooding and extreme weather, and lower household energy costs. The Youngkin Administration’s illegal actions taking Virginia out of this program benefited no one except our state’s biggest polluters. The end result of this illegal rollback was dirtier air, more communities left exposed to floodwaters, and fewer tools to help Virginians cut energy costs. We are incredibly pleased with this ruling and hope to see Virginia rejoin RGGI as soon as possible.”
–Mike Town, Executive Director
“The General Assembly’s mandate for Virginia to participate in RGGI cannot lawfully be overridden unilaterally by the executive branch. The court’s finding that the withdrawal was “without effect” means that Virginia should have been a participant in RGGI throughout this period, regardless of the governor’s attempts to exceed his constitutional authority.
This ruling sets an important precedent which reaffirms the separation of powers and the supremacy of legislative directives in environmental governance. Wetlands Watch is grateful for SELC’s leadership in successfully representing the petitioner in this landmark case.
Youngkin’s illegal withdrawal from RGGI has potentially left millions of dollars on the table that could have been spent reducing flood risk across the Commonwealth. This decision gets us one step closer to securing reliable funding for Virginia’s Community Flood Preparedness Fund.”
–Mary-Carson Stiff, Executive Director