A judge in Floyd County has ruled that Governor Glenn Youngkin’s effort to pull the state out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, was unlawful.
Governor Youngkin issued an executive order in 2022, recommending the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board exit the state's carbon cap and trade program, known as RGGI. Last year, the Board, which is a part of the Department of Environmental Quality, left RGGI.
Environmental groups sued, arguing DEQ didn’t have the authority to repeal a program established by the General Assembly in 2020.
The plaintiff in the case was the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals, an organization made up of members who help people weatherize their homes. The association joined other environmental groups in the original lawsuit, but theirs was the only organization that could prove it had suffered financial losses as a result of RGGI’s repeal.
The association used money from RGGI to help low-income residents reduce their energy use. “Our client’s members were out there working with contractors to make small repairs on roofs, fix leaky windows, upgrade electrical systems,” said Nate Benforado, an attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center who represented the association in the case.
Funds from RGGI also went towards the Community Flood Preparedness Fund to help Virginia communities mitigate against future flood events.
Plaintiffs argued their case on September 16th in Montgomery County. A week and a half later, Hurricane Helene dumped 40 trillion gallons of rain across the Southeast—enough water to fill 60 million Olympic sized swimming pools. More than 500 homes in Virginia were damaged or destroyed by the storm. Scientists warn that climate change could bring more frequent and intense flooding events to Appalachia in the future.
More than two months after the RGGI hearing, Floyd County Circuit Court Judge Randall Lowe issued a five-page opinion, explaining his decision to side with the plaintiffs, making the repeal of RGGI null and void.
“This opinion confirms that RGGI is law. And that Virginians deserve to be benefiting from this program,” Benforado said. “We will be working to get us back in RGGI as quickly as possible in compliance with this opinion.”
“I think it’s a very well-reasoned decision,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond.
“It may be the appeals court would look at it differently, but I doubt it,” Tobias said. “The legislature is supreme when it passes a statute. That’s not unconstitutional.”
The General Assembly will likely have the next word when they return next year. Virginia House Speaker Don Scott released a statement on X, saying the judge’s decision is “not only a win for every Virginian who has faced the devastating impact of severe flooding but a win for Virginians, their wallets, and our environment.”
The Attorney General’s office said in an email it plans to appeal the decision, and Governor Youngkin’s office posted a statement on X, saying “We respectfully disagree with the judge's decision and will pursue an appeal.”
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
