Hundreds of thousands of Virginians will lose out on energy efficiency, flood resiliency without RGGI

Let’s address the elephant in the room: this week, Gov-elect Youngkin pledged to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) through executive order – despite Virginia’s participation in RGGI being written into law through the 2020 Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act.

RGGI creates a cap-and-trade market for polluting carbon emissions for electricity generators. Carbon polluters must purchase allowances for each ton of carbon they emit. Last year, Virginia became the 10th state to join the regional carbon market.

In its first year, RGGI netted $237.6 million in revenue. By law, 45% ($107 million) of the RGGI revenue will go to bolster resilience of communities affected by recurrent flooding, and 50% ($118.8 million) will go to assist low income families with energy efficiency programs (5% covers administrative costs of the program). The revenue is purposefully and legally allocated this way to further mitigate carbon pollution and protect Virginians from the effects of climate change.

Pulling out of RGGI will hurt Virginians, especially low-income families and communities at risk of flooding. Without RGGI, we lose the only source of funding for the Community Flood Preparedness Fund, and families lose out on flood resiliency infrastructure and adaptation measures. Virginia families will also lose the chance to save on their energy bills if RGGI funding for energy efficiency programs disappear.

Here’s the good news: it appears that Youngkin’s pledge is illegal. Pulling out of RGGI by executive action is an unprecedented overstep of power by the governor-elect. Cale Jaffe, Associate Law Professor at the University of Virginia and VCN Board Member, shared that “the (State Air Pollution Control) Board has promulgated regulation to join RGGI. No governor can issue an executive order to just undo a duly promulgated regulation.”

Furthermore, the Virginia Clean Economy Act mandates an energy transition to a zero-carbon grid by 2050. RGGI is part of the equation to get Virginia there by 2050, and Jaffe also notes that “leveraging the benefits of a multistate trading market helps us find the most cost-effective way to meet that goal.”

Senators Dick Saslaw (Fairfax) and Mamie Locke (Hampton) stated: Youngkin’s pledge “would be incredibly harmful to the health of Virginians, protection of our natural spaces, and preparation for a clean energy economy… We only have one world—with Hampton Roads perpetually flooded, the Chesapeake Bay’s future at risk, and Virginians’ health declining, there is no time left to play politics with Mother Nature.”

The Virginia Conservation Network, and our 150 partner organizations, could not agree more. We need to keep RGGI intact in order to protect our children and future generations from flooding, respiratory illness, and climate change. To do otherwise would be stripping away critical protections for Virginia families and our air, water, and land.

As we transition to a carbon-free grid, we recognize the need to meet these goals in the least-cost manner. Unfortunately, Dominion Energy has stacked the policy decks in their favor allowing them to overcharge customers. For example, the State Corporation Commission reported earlier this year that Dominion Energy has overcharged customers by $1.1 billion since 2017. This is why VCN and our partners advocate for policies to reduce one of the country’s highest energy bills through utility rate reform. We encourage policy makers to join us in this effort.

VCN and our 150 environmental partners will continue advocating for Virginans through flood resilience, the energy efficiency programs established by RGGI, and utility rate reform, and we welcome Gov-elect Youngkin to work with us to meet our clean energy goals in the most affordable way.