The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is absolutely critical to not only our current communities in Virginia, but it has far-reaching impacts for the rest of our Mid-Atlantic region, the rest of the country, and globe both today and for the future. 

As the first program of its kind, RGGI has brought together multiple stakeholders from industry and government on a large scale, to not only acknowledge the negative impact that our energy production and consumption is having on the environment, but to actually hold polluting organizations accountable for their contributions to it. Already, RGGI participation has produced real reductions in carbon emissions and positive changes by incentivizing greener practices in industry in Virginia and along the East Coast. Removing Virginia from RGGI now would be premature (we have hardly begun to see the positive impacts that longterm participation in RGGI will yield for our state), would present a major setback to the RGGI program which will burden other state participants, and would ultimately be devastating for Virginians who 1. want pro-environmental policies in Virginia, 2. care about holding polluting industries accountable, and 3. benefit from the economic production of the RGGI program (i.e., the grant money that goes to flood relief and community preparedness programs, which many vulnerable communities across the state rely on!).

Removing Virginia from RGGI would be a grave mistake.