Youngkin has made clear his intention to pull Virginia out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The interstate compact places penalties on entities that exceed emission regulations set by an organization representing all member states.
In a speech at the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, Youngkin denounced the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) as a “carbon tax that is fully passed on to ratepayers” and said he would remove Virginia from the compact by executive order after taking office in January, according to a recording shared with The Hill. Youngkin specifically cited a request by the state’s primary electric utility, Dominion Energy, seeking to recover RGGI costs from customers.
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“I promised to lower the cost of living in Virginia and this is just the beginning,” he added. Virginia joined the RGGI as part of an amendment by Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act, which the state General Assembly passed in 2020. Utilities in states participating in the market pay the state for credits to offset emissions past a ceiling. The revenues are used for energy assistance to low-income residents.
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Republicans in the state legislature, who took control of the state House of Delegates in November, have similarly vowed to roll back environmental legislation that Democrats passed during the two-year period when they held a trifecta in the state government.
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"Virginia’s small businesses are managing several obstacles such as the labor shortage and supply chain disruptions. Small business owners need lawmakers to enact policies that promote job growth, not deter it, as they work on recovering their businesses to pre-crisis levels," Nicole Riley, state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said in a statement.
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The NFIB is one of the most significant associations for small businesses in the United States. She went on to suggest, "By removing Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin is sparing small business owners from an increased cost in their electric bills and other expenses they simply cannot afford right now."
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The RGGI currently boasts eleven member states in the initiative, all from the northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.
Pennsylvania is currently courting the RGGI for membership. It boasts itself as the "first market-based, cap-and-invest regional initiative in the United States."
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