I have witnessed the adverse effects of heat extremes and air pollution on people I love.  Community health matters - we need RGGI.

RGGI is working great for Virginia. Since joining RGGI, Virginia’s power plant emissions have consistently decreased, dropping 16.8% overall as compared to 2020 pre-RGGI levels.

Decreased air pollution means fewer asthma attacks, premature births, and missed days of school and work. In just six years participating states realized $5.7 billion in public health benefits thanks to RGGI. 

RGGI is helping Virginians right now by providing safe, affordable and energy-efficient homes to low-income families in ways that were never possible before RGGI.  RGGI is also providing dedicated funding to localities to plan for and prevent recurrent flooding.
There is a massive need for this funding. Flooding damages will cost
the state $79.1 billion if left unchecked. 

RGGI helps protect utility customers from high bills.  Fossil fuel costs are
soaring, significantly driving up customer bills. RGGI ensures that power plant owners
steadily reduce reliance on fossil fuels, protecting customers from these volatile commodities.

States participating in RGGI have already seen significant public health benefits as a result of the program. RGGI-driven reductions in pollution have resulted in an estimated $5.7 billion in health and productivity benefits. Between 2009-2014, reduced pollution as a result of RGGI prevented hundreds of premature adult deaths, thousands of asthma exacerbations (Manion et al, 2017) and over 500 new cases of child asthma. (Perera et al, 2020)

These and numerous other studies demonstrate that market-driven carbon reductions improve public health. We urge you to stay in RGGI to protect the health of all Virginians.