NRDC: Youngkin Moves Forward on Unlawful RGGI Repeal; Now Faces Legal Peril

RICHMOND, VA  — Governor Glenn Youngkin’s Air Pollution Control Board voted today to attempt to repeal Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Initiative (RGGI). A robust legal challenge will follow the regulation’s publication in the Virginia Register of Regulations.

The following is a reaction from Walton Shepherd, Virginia Policy Director at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):

“It’s now hurricane season in Virginia, with emergency flooding steadily on the rise across the state. And RGGI is the only source of statewide funding in Virginia dedicated to local flood protections, having allocated over $200 million to finance nearly 100 flood projects in Virginia. Yet Governor Youngkin wants to play a reckless political game with people’s homes and lives, while proposing zero climate solutions of his own.

“Our courts will knock this unlawful action down: Governor Youngkin simply has no legal right to unilaterally change state law without the legislature. This is how the system works: we have three branches of state government, and the RGGI law passed through those three branches already. The courts struck down a previous attack on RGGI before, and they will do so again. This will be a test for our democracy, and democracy will win.”

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law, and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health, and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd). Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.