MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. — The debate over Virginia’s involvement with a federal green initiative is finally heard in court.
The case involves the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and Virginia’s withdrawal from the program in 2023.
Virginia joined the RGGI in 2020 under then-Governor Ralph Northam.
In September of 2022, Governor Glenn Youngkin submitted a notice of his intent remove the state from the initiative.
The initiative requires power plants to buy allowances for how much carbon dioxide they emit. Over time, the allowances decline in quantity, with the hope of incentivizing these companies to reduce carbon emissions.
“If we pull out, we’re saying, ‘Hey, we don’t really care about climate change. We are not interested in climate solutions.’ And that’s a real problem," said Nate Benforado, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.
Benforado said in the few years Virginia was part of RGGI, power plant emissions dropped by more than 16%.
But, Gov. Youngkin has been a strong critic of RGGI, calling it a regressive tax on families and businesses across the Commonwealth, and that it does little to reduce pollution.
The team representing environmental groups claims the decision to pull Virginia from RGGI was made illegally, and they are asking a circuit court judge in Montgomery County, Virginia to essentially reverse the withdrawal.
They claim without membership, low-income families will lose out on funding to weatherize their homes.
“We have a program called the Community Flood Preparedness Fund and this is the only source of flooding and climate resilience funding that the Commonwealth has," said Jay Ford, Virginia Policy and Grassroots Advisor to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
An attorney representing the Attorney General’s Office argued the claims are unfounded.
The judge did not hand down an official decision at the hearing, saying he would make a ruling within the next 30 days.