Call on Gov. Youngkin to stop attacking the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
- van: EDF Action
- ontvanger: VA Governor Glenn Youngkin
Our homes, businesses and communities across Virginia are already at risk from extreme storms and the highest rate of relative sea level rise on the Atlantic coast. We need to fight back by not only slowing the pace of climate change, but also by making adaptations to prepare for its destructive impacts. By 2050, Virginia and other states along the coast are expected to experience sea level rise of a foot or more. That means "moderate" flooding will occur more than 10 times as often as it does today, devastating the nearly 60% of Virginians who live in shoreline communities.
As our state's only dedicated source of funding for flood resilience, it's critical that we preserve the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a program designed to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from power plants while generating hundreds of millions of dollars for flood resilience projects. These proceeds are now being used by local governments across the Commonwealth – from Roanoke to Alexandria – to plan and implement initiatives to protect their communities from growing flood risk. Yet Governor Youngkin continues seeking to destroy this critical program. If he succeeds, Virginia would be left with no way to protect our communities from the destructive floods we know are coming.
Nearly 2 in 3 Virginia voters believe that flooding and rising sea levels are already seriously impacting Virginia, and an even greater majority want a science-based plan to address flood risk. Governor Youngkin does not have a voter mandate to destroy the only program that funds flood resilience programs across the state. Send him a message now!
In 2021, Virginia made history as the first southern state to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). And in its first year alone, RGGI yielded $228 million for Virginia. This money is already being used to create more energy-efficient affordable housing units, help families reduce energy bills and enhance flood resilience across the state. RGGI is a proven, market-based program that will help keep Virginia on track for meeting its climate goals, reducing power plant carbon emissions by about 30% by 2030. The climate crisis is affecting Virginians now, and RGGI is a critical part of our fight against it.
Yet on your first day in office, you issued an executive order signaling your intent to pull Virginia out of RGGI, despite bipartisan support for the programs and projects funded with RGGI proceeds. This action goes against the desires of many communities and businesses that strongly support climate action. Virginia must face the growing climate crisis, not ignore it.
I believe that RGGI is especially critical for reducing Virginia's flood risk. We are already experiencing extreme storms statewide and the highest rate of relative sea level rise on the Atlantic coast. And flood risk will increase dramatically in coming years. If we don't act now, coastal flood damage will skyrocket from $400 million to $5.1 billion each year by 2080. Currently, RGGI is the only dedicated source of funding for statewide flood resilience. We will need RGGI if we are to generate the billions of dollars needed to carry out all of the necessary and vital flood resilience projects across the state. Withdrawing from the program would disproportionately harm under-resourced, small and rural communities that do not have the capacity to address flood risk or make needed weatherization and energy efficiency improvements on their own.
For the sake of Virginians everywhere — especially those in rural and low-wealth communities — I urge you to stop your efforts to halt the implementation and integrity of the Virginia RGGI program.
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