Judge Rejects Youngkin’s Attack on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

FLOYD, Va. - A judge ruled today Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin broke the law when he attempted to withdraw the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) climate program.

As the judge's decision states, "the putative repeal of [RGGI] was beyond the statutory authority of the [Youngkin administration], and therefore unlawful and without effect."

Youngkin has spent his three years in office attacking the popular climate action law, which the General Assembly passed with bipartisan support in 2020. Since it was enacted in 2021, RGGI has slashed air pollution by 20 percent and delivered over $800 million in flooding resilience and energy efficiency upgrades in low-income homes, paid for by large corporate air polluters across Virginia.

Following is a statement fromWalton Shepherd, Senior Attorney for Climate & Energy at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council): 

"This is what happens when politicians recklessly pander to corporate polluters, rather than assure Virginians' safety and well-being: they learn they are not above the law. Now that Youngkin's cynical misadventure in bad governance has come to its predictable end, it is time to finally move forward. Virginia can now rejoin RGGI, tackle climate change, and protect against even more catastrophic flooding. As we witness the grim toll of the increasingly dangerous weather in a warming world, today's decision is good news for all Virginians."

BACKGROUND:

Youngkin's administration withdrew from RGGI in 2023, prompting a lawsuit from the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals, who argued that Youngkin and the State Air Pollution Control Board were not authorized to end Virginia's statutorily required participation in the program.

NRDC filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff, arguing that the Air Pollution Control Board did not have the statutory authority to repeal the law's regulation requirements. The board, acting at Youngkin's unlawful direction, overstepped its authority by acting to end the state's participation in the 10-state program, which requires corporate polluters purchase allowances to account for their carbon emissions created by electricity generation.

Youngkin's unlawful actions to stop the implementation of RGGI have since cost the state well over $100 million in polluter payments in just this year alone.

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, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd). Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.