| Action | Repeal CO 2 Budget Trading Program as required by Executive Order 9 (Revision A22) |
| Stage | Final |
| Comment Period | Ended on 8/30/2023 |
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489 comments
The RGGI is an important program to lower greenhouse emissions and to provide crucial funding to our state to fight climate change. We are seeing the effects that humans have had on the climate with rising temperatures and more frequent natural disasters. For our sake and our children’s, do not withdraw.
What a huge step …. BACKWARDS….for Virginia! This must be hard to defend for anyone in the least bit, who cares for our environment.
Whatever is the reasoning behind such a decision?
This summer the world is experiencing the implications of climate change--heat waves, floods, fires. RGGI alone will not solve climate change, but it is part of a solution to a collective action problem. The costs of environmental harm to our economy and our children's health far outweigh those of RGGI. I appreciate the opportunity to comment, and I hope we can elevate this health / quality-of-life issue above politics and focus on the well-being of Virginians (current and future).
Repealing the RGGI is a terrible idea. We ALL require clean air to breathe, and we are ALL going to continue to feel the effects of climate change more and more as time goes on! Please reconsider this decision for the sake of all Virginians.
Please stop the misguided effort to withdraw the Commonwealth from RGGI.
Please keep Virginia in RGGI. Benefits of RGGI far outweigh its costs. Funds from RGGI provide all regions of Virginia with important benefits.
I am writing to oppose the repeal of RGGI in Virginia. Our membership in the RGGI is crucial to maintaining and continuing our state's progress in fighting climate change, and it is good for communities. We are in the middle of climate catastrophe, and it is only getting worse. To consider going backwards is foolish, and not something we are going to want to tell our kids when they ask us what we did to decrease reliance on fossil fuels and reduce pollution. Virginia's people also deserve to enjoy the economic benefits provided by RGGI, particularly in clean energy industries, which are increasingly attracting investment.
Please, as the parent of two young children who are growing up in an uncertain world, stay in RGGI!
Spaceship Earth is on a dangerous trajectory, and we must increase our investments in its survival. To do that, RGGI will help us stop the use of fossil fuels, increase renewable energy, make our cities resilient, invest in nature-based carbon capture, and much more. Moreover, this act by the Air Pollution Control Board is not legal and is politically motivated. The Board does not have the authority to reverse a legislative mandate. Virginians overwhelmingly want to stay in RGGI and pursue climate action. My family and I are among those.
I support keeping Virginia in the RGGI. This is one important step in the battle against Climate Change. Please keep Virginia in the RGGI!
The RGGI is helping Virginia stay true to the needs of fighting climate change.
We need to continue on the right track for our future and for the sake of our most vulnerable (human and animal) populations.
Please do not remove Virginia from the RGGI.
Please keep Virginia in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. It has proven to be a successful program that reduces pollution. Virginians want clean air, clean water, and safe living environments. RGGI is an essential step towards that goal. Thank you.
I am shocked to hear that the commonwealth administration is considering moving Virginia from the RGGI. This is irresponsible, ridiculous, and it shows no leadership or forethought. This decision impacts every child, an adult living in the Commonwealth, including the offspring of those in the Youngkin administration. Protecting the future air state of our of our beautiful Commonwealth is a legacy that all voters can and will support.
This summer is it not clear how this country/our world is experiencing the implications of climate change? RGGI is part of hope - part of a plan - part of a solution. It is a huge step backwards to abandon RGGI. I have children. I want them to have a future that is not plagued with the results of our wrong-doings, our greed, our denial that somehow we can simply ignore what is happening. This is not political. It is what is right. Please reconsider this decision.
Do not leave the RGGI. We must continue to be vigilant in our efforts to reduce gas emissions
Virginia needs to remain on n RGGI!
I believe that Virginia should pull out of this agreement.
RGGI is a forward-thinking program that not only put the onus on power companies to rein in emissions, but provides important home weatherization assistance and flood resilience planning capabilities to rural communities. There is no replacement for any of these programs, so existing flood-prone communities and future generations alike will suffer from this proposed rollback. Keep Virginia's role as a leader in RGGI!
As a Foreign Service Officer representing the United States around the world for 33 years, I worked to help other governments address their environmental issues and collaborate with our initiatives. I am embarrassed and ashamed that Governor Youngkin and the Board would do something so illegal and threatening to our health and safety as to try to pull out of RGGI without legislative action. Stop this immediately.
Hello,
I would like to voice my opinion that Virginia stay the course as the law was passed.
John
First off, the governor doesn't have the legal authority to withdraw Virginia from RGGI. Only the legislature can do that. Gov. Youngkin, perhaps thinking he's still a CEO rather than a public servant, continues to display an unsettling and dismaying disregard for whether or not his desired actions are legal.
Second, if the governor is concerned about high utility bills for Virginia ratepayers, can't he take appropriate regulatory steps to curb that issue through the State Corporation Commission?
Third, withdrawing from RGGI would be a massive mistake for Virginia. Virginia receives hundreds of millions of dollars each quarter from polluting power companies to bolster our state budget, reduce our tax burden, and most importantly, provide flood preparedness and relief.
That's especially important in regions of the state that tend to be hardest-hit by worsening flooding, such as last year's minor disaster in Southwest Virginia -- a region that likely supported Gov. Youngkin at the polls in 2021. I would say that the governor is leaving his own voters high and dry, but, well, failing to prepare for floods tends to lead to the exact opposite of that.
By incentivizing power companies to invest in and switch to clean, renewable forms of energy, the RGGI offers a superb free-market solution to air pollution and carbon emissions, while providing a powerful prod to bring more green-energy jobs to Virginia.
The power companies that spew carbon into the air deserve to pay to clean up the mess they're dumping on the rest of us -- in the form of dirtier air, widespread public health harms, and the increasingly extreme weather we're witnessing as a byproduct of human-created climate change. I've worked for a municipal power company, and I still favor the RGGI.
We can't continue to stick out heads in the sand and pretend we don't need to do the bare minimum protect the Earth, it's species, and all future generations. Please reconsider
Is it not extremely evident from Virginia's weather extremes that we must be proactive to protect our future and that of our children? Keep Virginia's role as a leader in RGGI!
RGGI is a forward-thinking program that not only put the onus on power companies to rein in emissions, but also provides important home assistance and flood resilience planning capabilities to rural communities. There is no replacement for any of these programs, so existing flood-prone communities and future generations alike will suffer from this proposed rollback.
After less than three years, it's clear that RGGI is a cost-effective tool to address our climate crisis. Virginia has already received nearly $700 million for community flood-prevention investments and for energy-efficiency investments by low-income households, all while significantly reducing the carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation in Virginia. By leaving RGGI, Virginia would lose this important new revenue and Virginia electricity generators would increase their carbon footprint.
The human-caused climate crisis is already upon us, is primarily caused by burning fossil fuels, and as an existential threat to human habitation on this planet. The decision for Virginia to exit RGGI is not merely unlawful; it's immoral and stupid.
From Time Magazine, July 13, 2023:
RGGI works: "For the original ten members of RGGI, the system has worked extraordinarily well for 18 years, with the overall alliance reducing total emissions by 50%—twice as fast as states in the rest of the country—and raising $6 billion to invest in local communities." Time Magazine, July 13, 2023.
And Virginians want it:
"That kind of bounty is popular with Virginians. At the end of January, Virginia opened up its Town Hall Portal for a 60-day comment period, inviting Virginians to weigh in on whether or not the state should pull out of the consortium. Roughly 1,900 constituents responded, 1,300 of whom voted to remain in RGGI. And in a more recent, second round of comments in April, the Town Hall Portal put support for RGGI at 88% statewide."
Please reverse your intention to withdraw from the RGGI. The argument that the participation is costing homeowners money is short-sighted an ill informed.
Participation in RGGI has brought investment to Virginia to the benefit of many
Participation signals Virgnian's continued commitment to our community well-being and economic potential by focusing efforts on investments in sustainable and resilient technologies. Should Virginia seek to withdraw it reduces the eligibility for our energy service providers to seek investment from federally available funds via the DOE IIJA GRIP and CHIPS grant mechanisms.
These federal dollar programs are targeted at supporting communities in building reliable and resilient energy infrastructure that supports low income communities and allows more diverse power generation capabilities be brought into the energy distribution system. Rejecting a commitment to carbon reduction technologies and carbon reduction goals is opposition to these federal program goals and therefore minimizes the eligibility of Virginia entities (municiple and rural electric power providers) from obtaining available federal dollars.
Stepping by from RGGI signals to those that there is not economic value in reducing carbon emissions, when empirically there is - when people and our environment at healthy and our energy network is resilient we can maximize the economic productivity of our state.
Please keep Virginia in RGGI.
The benefits of RGGI far outweigh its costs. Global warming is here and we are all connected. We must work together to avoid mass extinction. Look towards the future and consider how our actions now will affect generations to come.
Sincerely,
Lucinda Shannon
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is good for Virginia, for its citizens, and for future Virginians who will thank you for your foresight in remaining a member of the RGGI. This is also required by Virginia law.
As the subject states, this is simply illegal. I urge you to please reverse course and leave this issue to the legislature where their action on it is legal. No executive action can overturn legislation. That is textbook executive overreach and is clearly an effort to upend a well functioning system as long as the legal process can drag out. For all substantial and merrited comments arguing for reform of the regulations that should be handeled with a TAC and/or legislative solutions. The current action is undemocratic in all senses of checks and balances and the administration knows that. Again, please reverse course and abandon this effort. Thank you,
-Will Isenberg
The Air Pollution Control Board does not have the authority to reverse a legislative mandate — only the General Assembly can repeal laws.
Furthermore, RGGI is one of our most powerful regional partnerships to fight climate change.
Stay in RGGI.
I was dismayed by the Air Pollution Control Board's "decision" to withdraw Virginia from the RGGI. This is bad news for addressing climate change and also bad rulemaking since the Board (and Governor) have no authority to repeal something mandated by law. The State should step back this decision and not waste taxpayer money fighting a legal challenge in court.
I am writing today as a concerned citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia and of this environment which we all share. Our participation in RGGI was put in place by a law passed by the General Assembly. As such we can simply walk away from that commitment without the General Assembly passing a law saying as much. In addition, from a climate action stand point it is imperative that we act now and do all that we can to try to avoid the breakpoints climate scientists are warning us about. We will go down and destroy ourselves all because we chose economics and profit over our collective health and well being.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
The proposed decision for Virginia to leave the RGGI agreement is woefully misguided. This should especially be apparent this summer with so many problems across the globe caused by climate change. Besides, this agreement has been so beneficial to Virginia. Why cancel it?
Actual revenues from RGGI have far outstripped state officials’ projections. Alternate funding sources that have been proposed are smaller, ignore low-income households, and are contingent on available funding. The current budget surplus is the result of pandemic recovery efforts and is not a permanent source of funds.
Furthermore, a letter that 61 legislators have already sent to the Air Pollution Control Board states, "Virginia’s participation in RGGI is mandated by law. Therefore, ultimately only a change in the law that passes both chambers of the General Assembly and is signed by the Governor can remove Virginia’s participation.” Attempts to circumvent the law will end up in court costing taxpayers.
Since participation in RGGI was passed as legislation by the General Assembly and is now in the Code of Virginia, the Governor’s efforts to unilaterally ignore laws and effectively repeal them, threaten the purpose in having a legislative body. These actions violate the separation of powers that is the foundation of US constitutional government. Even aside from the climate crisis we must oppose such a dangerous precedent.
Virginia needs the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). By law, 50% of RGGI revenue goes to low-income energy efficiency programs, mitigating rate increases for energy burdened households. RGGI dollars are being used in every region of Virginia.
This year we are seeing the devastating effects of climate disruption caused by greenhouse gas emissions. A carbon cap-and-trade program is an effective state action to mitigate emissions. Most other actions to address the climate crisis require federal government intervention. This is the one strategy which is within Virginia’s power to act.
Flood damage is increasing across the Commonwealth and without RGGI we will not have the funds to cope. By law, 45% of RGGI revenue goes to the Community Flood Preparedness Fund. That’s why seventeen Hampton Roads cities and counties opposed Virginia leaving RGGI in a letter from the HRPDC.
Actual revenues from RGGI have far outstripped state officials’ projections. Alternate funding sources that have been proposed are smaller, ignore low-income households, and are contingent on available funding. The current budget surplus is the result of pandemic recovery efforts and is not a permanent source of funds.
Furthermore, a letter that 61 legislators have already sent to the Air Pollution Control Board states, "Virginia’s participation in RGGI is mandated by law. Therefore, ultimately only a change in the law that passes both chambers of the General Assembly and is signed by the Governor can remove Virginia’s participation.” Attempts to circumvent the law will end up in court costing taxpayers.
Since participation in RGGI was passed as legislation by the General Assembly and is now in the Code of Virginia, the Governor’s efforts to unilaterally ignore laws and effectively repeal them, threaten the purpose in having a legislative body. These actions violate the separation of powers that is the foundation of US constitutional government. Even aside from the climate crisis we must oppose such a dangerous precedent.
People all over Virginia have benefited from RGGI. Flood damage is increasing across the Commonwealth and, by law, 45% of RGGI. Revenue from RGGI has surpassed half a billion dollars, far outstripping projections by state officials. No sustainable funding source has been proposed to replace the revenue from RGGI needed to address flooding. And no funds have been proposed to replace the 50% of RGGI revenue mandated to permanently reduce the energy burden on low-income households through weatherization.
Only the General Assembly can repeal a law, it is not within the power of a governor or a state board. Attempts to circumvent the legislature will end in court and taxpayers will have to pay to defend an action they oppose.
Please put the health and welfare of individual Virginians ahead of corporate interests. Virginia needs the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). By law, 50% of RGGI revenue goes to low-income energy efficiency programs, mitigating rate increases for energy burdened households. RGGI dollars are being used in every region of Virginia. We need to protect our most financially vulnerable households.
This year we are seeing the devastating effects of climate disruption caused by greenhouse gas emissions. A carbon cap-and-trade program is an effective state action to mitigate emissions. Most other actions to address the climate crisis require federal government intervention. This is the one strategy which is within Virginia’s power to act.
Flood damage is increasing across the Commonwealth and without RGGI we will not have the funds to cope. By law, 45% of RGGI revenue goes to the Community Flood Preparedness Fund.
Actual revenues from RGGI have far outstripped state officials’ projections. Alternate funding sources that have been proposed are smaller, ignore low-income households, and are contingent on available funding. The current budget surplus is the result of pandemic recovery efforts and is not a permanent source of funds.
Furthermore, a letter that 61 legislators have already sent to the Air Pollution Control Board states, "Virginia’s participation in RGGI is mandated by law. Therefore, ultimately only a change in the law that passes both chambers of the General Assembly and is signed by the Governor can remove Virginia’s participation.” Attempts to circumvent the law will end up in court costing taxpayers.
Since participation in RGGI was passed as legislation by the General Assembly and is now in the Code of Virginia, the Governor’s efforts to unilaterally ignore laws and effectively repeal them, threaten the purpose in having a legislative body. These actions violate the separation of powers that is the foundation of US constitutional government. Even aside from the climate crisis we must oppose such a dangerous precedent.
I appreciate your attention to this comment.
We must continure to partipate!
As we hunker down again in the path of another destructive storm in Virginia, it is stupid to withdraw from this regional collaboration, ESPECIALLY without promoting a better alternative. If I were more synical, I would suspect partisan politics as the only rational explanation. Please, where are we leading Virginia for the benefit of our kiddos and America's future?
We have something that works put in place by the legislature. Only the legislature can repeal it. If it is repealed, there will be a lawsuit and the voters of Virginia will have to pay for both sides!
Virginia needs the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). By law, 50% of RGGI revenue goes to low-income energy efficiency programs, mitigating rate increases for energy burdened households. RGGI dollars are being used in every region of Virginia.
This year we are seeing the devastating effects of climate disruption caused by greenhouse gas emissions. A carbon cap-and-trade program is an effective state action to mitigate emissions. Most other actions to address the climate crisis require federal government intervention. This is the one strategy which is within Virginia’s power to act.
Flood damage is increasing across the Commonwealth and without RGGI we will not have the funds to cope. By law, 45% of RGGI revenue goes to the Community Flood Preparedness Fund. That’s why seventeen Hampton Roads cities and counties opposed Virginia leaving RGGI in a letter from the HRPDC.
Actual revenues from RGGI have far outstripped state officials’ projections. Alternate funding sources that have been proposed are smaller, ignore low-income households, and are contingent on available funding. The current budget surplus is the result of pandemic recovery efforts and is not a permanent source of funds.
Furthermore, a letter that 61 legislators have already sent to the Air Pollution Control Board states, "Virginia’s participation in RGGI is mandated by law. Therefore, ultimately only a change in the law that passes both chambers of the General Assembly and is signed by the Governor can remove Virginia’s participation.” Attempts to circumvent the law will end up in court costing taxpayers.
Since participation in RGGI was passed as legislation by the General Assembly and is now in the Code of Virginia, the Governor’s efforts to unilaterally ignore laws and effectively repeal them, threaten the purpose in having a legislative body. These actions violate the separation of powers that is the foundation of US constitutional government. Even aside from the climate crisis we must oppose such a dangerous precedent.
I support keeping Virginia in the RGGI. This is one important step in the battle against Climate Change. Please keep Virginia in the RGGI!
Virginia needs the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initative (GGI). By law, 50 % of RGGI revenue goes to low-income energy effiency programs, mitigating rate incras for enrgy burdened households. RGGI dollars are bein used in every region in Virginia.
Also this year we are seeing the devasting effects of climate disruption caused by greenhouse gass emissions. A carbon cap-and-trade program is an effective state action to mitigate emmisions. Most other actions to address the climate crisis require federal government intervention. This is the one strategy which is within Virginia's power to act.
This year has made it clear that the effects of climate change are accelerating. As a coastal state, Virginia is at severe risk for flooding, and without the RGGI funds, we will not have the resources to protect our citizens from devastation caused by flood waters. Cap-and-trade programs work. Sticking our heads in the sand will not. Keep Virginia in RGGI.
There is simply no good reason to abandon RGGI program. Environmental change adversely impacting our state, seen in increasing flooding and heat, is a concern of paramount importance. This is a real existential crisis, not an issue to be played with through political theater. More initiatives towards clean energy is needed, please don’t remove a program which at least attempts to address climate concerns.
Please don't allow Youngkin destroy the Commonwealth's initiatives to combat greenhouse gasses. Don't let him pull Virginia back into the dark ages.
I oppose leaving RGGI! This is a time to continue to work together for the climate and to protect those most impacted with costs of climate change.
The Governor should not remove Virginia from the RGGI because:
1) Only the legislature can legally remove our state from the agreement. Participation is mandated by law. Don't make Virginian tax-payers pay for a foolish act of withdrawing.
2) The RGGI is good for our planet and good for Virginia.
3) Climate change is worsening and Virginians are already suffering, and a cap-and-trade agreement is a proven effective way to reduce harmful carbon emissions. Virginia has been benefitting from the RGGI, receiving revenues to help combat and cope with damages from global warming.
Do the right thing and stop the removal of our state from the RGGI!
Please do not take Virginia out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.