UNITED STATES NEWS

Virginia regulators advance Youngkin plan to leave climate initiative he calls ineffective

Jun 6, 2023, 10:14 PM | Updated: Jun 7, 2023, 3:16 pm

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia regulators voted on Wednesday to advance Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s plan to withdraw from a multistate carbon cap-and-trade program.

Virginia spent years under Democratic administrations moving toward participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which environmental advocates say is a proven tool to help reduce pollution and address climate change. But that has been thrown into reverse since Youngkin, a Republican who says the program has functioned as a tax on electricity users with no environmental benefit, took office in January 2022.

Wednesday’s final 4-3 vote by the state Air Pollution Control Board advanced the governor’s proposal over a key hurdle in the administrative process, though his plan is ultimately expected to face a legal challenge.

“Today’s commonsense decision by the Air Board to repeal RGGI protects Virginians from the failed program that is not only a regressive tax on families and businesses across the Commonwealth, but also does nothing to reduce pollution,” Youngkin said in a statement after the vote.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is an effort by 12 mid-Atlantic and Northeast states to reduce power plants’ carbon emissions. Participating states require plants of a certain generating capacity to purchase allowances to emit carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, which scientists say is already accelerating sea level rise and worsening extreme weather.

In Virginia, most proceeds from the sale of allowances — which have reached nearly $590 million so far — are divvied up between efforts to assist localities affected by recurrent flooding and sea-level rise, and a state-administered account to support energy efficiency programs for low-income individuals.

Youngkin, who that made the state a full participant in the program.

The law included language that said the costs of allowances purchased through the initiative would be deemed environmental compliance costs that may be recovered from ratepayers of monopoly utilities Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power.

“The imposition of the RGGI ‘carbon tax’ fails to offer any incentive to change behavior. Current law allows power generators, such (as) Dominion Energy, to pass on all their costs, essentially bearing no cost for the carbon credits,” a 2022 administration report said.

Nate Benforado, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, pushed back on that argument, noting that others required to comply are independent power producers that are regulated differently and account for about 30% of Virginia’s power sector emissions.

In public comment on the proposal, the SELC said Virginia’s emission levels were stagnant in the decade before the state joined RGGI, followed by a “clear shift” in reductions in the years since.

“Virginia’s annual total CO2 emissions from power plants declined by about 5.5 million tons/year — from about 32.8 million tons in 2020 to about 27.3 million tons in 2022 — a total decrease of 16.8% over just two years,” the group said, citing data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Some RGGI critics question whether that’s due to participation in the program or other factors.

About 1,900 commenters weighed in through an online portal to oppose the governor’s proposal during the most recent period for public comment, compared with approximately 600 in favor.

Among those supporting a repeal was Dominion, which serves around 2.7 million customers in Virginia. The utility wrote that RGGI participation does not further the goal of carbon reduction but “instead imparts unnecessary additional costs on Virginia customers with no evidence of incremental benefits.”

To date, Dominion has incurred about $490 million in compliance costs and has recovered about $267 million from customers, spokesman Aaron Ruby said.

Appalachian Power spokeswoman Teresa Hamilton Hall said the company has incurred $742,000 in costs since 2021, most of which regulators said the company could recover from users.

“Compliance with RGGI adds to customer costs,” she said.

In addition to their opposition to rescinding the program, RGGI advocates have argued that the way Youngkin’s administration has sought to leave it — through administrative action after legislative attempts were defeated — is unlawful.

“We fully expect robust and ultimately successful legal challenges to ensue by any number of parties who will be harmed by this action,” said Walton Shepherd, Virginia policy director and senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Wednesday’s vote advances the proposal to an executive review period, after which it is expected to be published in the Virginia Register and could then be subject to legal challenge.

United States News

FILE - Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., speaks with reporters as he departs after a Republican caucus ...

Associated Press

North Carolina Rep. McHenry, who led House through speaker stalemate, won’t seek reelection in 2024

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, who presided temporarily over the U.S. House for three intense weeks while Republicans struggled to elect a permanent speaker after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster, announced Tuesday that he won’t seek reelection to his seat next year. McHenry, who was first elected to the House in 2004 at […]

21 minutes ago

FILE - The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, in Washington. The Supreme Court...

Associated Press

Supreme Court throws out case that could have limited lawsuits over disability access

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a case surrounding a Maine hotel that could have made it harder for people with disabilities to learn in advance whether a hotel’s accommodations meet their needs. Hotels and other business interests had urged the justices to limit the ability of so-called testers to file lawsuits […]

3 hours ago

File - An employee works inside the Hanwha Qcells Solar plant on Oct. 16, 2023, in Dalton, Ga. On T...

Associated Press

US job openings fall to lowest level since March 2021 as labor market cools

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers posted 8.7 million job openings in October, the fewest since March 2021, in a sign that hiring is cooling in the face of higher interest rates yet remains at a still-healthy pace. The Labor Department said Tuesday that openings were down significantly from 9.4 million in September. U.S. hiring is […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Cause sought of explosion that leveled an Arlington, Virginia, home as police tried to serve warrant

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Hours before a massive explosion destroyed a duplex and shook a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., a suspect inside his home fired a flare gun 30 to 40 times into the neighborhood, drawing a large police response, officials said Tuesday. All officers escaped serious injury but it was unclear what happened […]

5 hours ago

FILE - Math teacher Doug Walters sits among empty desks as he takes part in a video conference with...

Associated Press

Students around the world suffered huge learning setbacks during the pandemic, study finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — Students around the world suffered historic setbacks in reading and math during the COVID-19 pandemic, with declines in test scores so widespread that the United States climbed in global rankings simply by falling behind less sharply, a new study finds. The state of global education was given a bleak appraisal in the […]

8 hours ago

Associated Press

Israel moves into Gaza’s second-largest city and intensifies strikes in bloody new phase of the war

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel said Tuesday that its troops had entered Gaza’s second-largest city as intensified bombardment sent streams of ambulances and cars racing to hospitals with wounded and dead Palestinians, including children, in a bloody new phase of the war. The military said its forces were “in the heart” of Khan […]

10 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Follow @KTAR923...

The best ways to honor our heroes on Veterans Day and give back to the community

Veterans Day is fast approaching and there's no better way to support our veterans than to donate to the Military Assistance Mission.

Follow @KTAR923...

The 2023 Diamondbacks are a good example to count on the underdog

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the World Series as a surprise. That they made the playoffs at all, got past the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Wild Card round, swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS and won two road games in Philadelphia to close out a full seven-game NLCS went against every expectation. Now, […]

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Desert Institute for Spine Care (DISC) wants to help Valley residents address back, neck issues through awake spine surgery

As the weather begins to change, those with back issues can no longer rely on the dry heat to aid their backs. That's where DISC comes in.

Virginia regulators advance Youngkin plan to leave climate initiative he calls ineffective