{"id":2016574,"date":"2023-08-30T10:53:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T14:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/environmental-groups-sue-virginia-governor-over-regional-greenhouse-gas-initiative\/"},"modified":"2023-08-30T10:55:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T14:55:01","slug":"environmental-groups-sue-virginia-governor-over-regional-greenhouse-gas-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/environmental-groups-sue-virginia-governor-over-regional-greenhouse-gas-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental groups sue Virginia governor over RGGI."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fenvironmental-groups-sue-virginia-governor-over-regional-greenhouse-gas-initiative%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2016574&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>A\u200b Virginia-based law firm \u200chas taken legal action against Gov. Glenn Youngkin&#8217;s\u2062 administration for\u200d withdrawing from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative \u2064(RGGI).<\/p>\n<p>The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) has\u200c filed a petition challenging the Youngkin administration&#8217;s decision \u200cto withdraw Virginia from the RGGI. The petition represents the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals, Virginia Interfaith Power and \u2064Light, Appalachian Voices, and Faith \u200dAlliance for Climate Solutions.<\/p>\n<p>The petition argues that the state Air Pollution Control Board and the Virginia Department\u200d of Environmental Quality \u2064do not\u2062 have\u2063 the authority \u2063to end the state\u2019s participation \u2063in the carbon trading program.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/youngkin-puts-schools-on-notice-for-refusing-to-follow-new-transgender-rules-5478400\">Youngkin Puts Virginia Schools on Notice for Refusing to Follow New \u2062Transgender Rules<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/23\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/youngkin-puts-schools-on-notice-for-refusing-to-follow-new-transgender-rules-5478400\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/biden-admin-announces-1-2-billion-investment-in-projects-to-capture-carbon-from-the-air-5459748\">Biden Admin \u2063Announces $1.2 Billion for \u2064Carbon Capture Projects<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/11\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/biden-admin-announces-1-2-billion-investment-in-projects-to-capture-carbon-from-the-air-5459748\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The groups argue that Virginians\u2064 will lose money afforded \u2062to them by the RGGI, which currently allows them to access disaster relief funds for home repairs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe weatherization\u2064 and flood preparedness\u200c funds created due to our participation\u200d in RGGI were \u2063sound and practical solutions to stabilize Virginia\u2019s economy in the \u2064face \u2064of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-begs-oil-industry-to-lower-prices-as-energy-crisis-looms-report\/\" title=\"Biden Begs Oil Industry To Lower Prices As Energy Crisis Looms: REPORT\">rising energy costs<\/a>, sea levels, temperatures, and\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-u-s-ambassador-to-mexico-ken-salazar-arrives-in-mexico\/\" title=\"New U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar arrives in Mexico\">severe weather conditions<\/a>. RGGI\u200b is working for Virginia, and \u2062Virginians know it,\u201d said the \u2064Rev. Faith Harris, executive \u2062director at\u200b Virginia Interfaith Power &#038; Light in a press \u200cstatement.<\/p>\n<h2>RGGI a \u2064&#8217;Direct Tax&#8217; on\u200d Households<\/h2>\n<p>In July, when Virginia first withdrew from\u2063 RGGI, Mr. Youngkin praised Virginia\u2019s Air Pollution Control Board decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday\u2019s commonsense \u2063decision by the Air Board to repeal RGGI protects Virginians from\u200d the failed program \u200dthat is not\u2064 only a regressive tax on\u200c families and businesses\u2062 across the \u200cCommonwealth but also does nothing to reduce pollution,\u201d he \u200csaid\u200d in\u2063 a\u2064 statement.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Youngkin\u200d said the RGGI\u2064 fees\u2063 that power companies paid\u2062 to purchase carbon offsets were ultimately passed down to their customers as a tax.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFunds collected by the sale of these offsets \u2064are \u2062spent on Virginia government programs.\u2064 Participation in RGGI is in \u2062effect a direct \u200dtax on all \u2063households and businesses, and there is a\u200d zero incentive for power\u2062 producers to reduce carbon \u2064emissions,\u201d the governor&#8217;s office said.<\/p>\n<p>Virginia joined RGGI in 2020 after the Democrat-controlled General Assembly authorized\u2063 legislation to do so, including the Virginia\u2062 Clean \u2062Economy Act and\u2064 the Clean Energy and Community \u2063Flood Preparedness Act.<\/p>\n<p>The General Assembly voted 53\u201345 in favor of participating in\u2063 RGGI.<\/p>\n<p>The program has been implemented\u200d in\u2064 12\u2063 eastern states and sets a regional limit on carbon\u200d dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants. Each power plant has to pay for each ton \u2062of \u2063CO2\u200d it emits at quarterly auctions.<\/p>\n<p>Proponents of RGGI \u2063say it helps to lower CO2, improve air quality, and sends \u200bhalf of \u200dthe \u2064money\u2062 from the auctions to benefit Virginia\u2019s residents\u2064 via the Community Flood\u2063 Preparedness Fund, which supports resilience efforts in Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>According to a 2023 RGGI report (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rggi.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Uploads\/Proceeds\/RGGI_Proceeds_Report_2021.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>), in \u2063calendar year 2021, the Virginia Department\u2063 of Housing\u2063 and Community Development invested $42.4 \u200bmillion in \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/environmental-groups-sue-virginia-governor-over-regional-greenhouse-gas-initiative\/\" title=\"Environmental groups sue Virginia governor over RGGI.\">quarterly auction proceeds \u2064energy efficiency programs<\/a>: $15.2 million for\u200b the Weatherization Deferral Repair\u2062 Program and $27.2 million for the Affordable Special Needs Housing Program.<\/p>\n<p>Typical \u200crepairs\u2063 performed through\u2063 weatherization repair program\u2062 include roof replacements or repairs; heating, \u2063ventilating, \u2063and air conditioning (HVAC) system replacements or repairs;\u2063 and structural repairs, often related to \u200bwater \u200bdamage.<\/p>\n<h2>Incorrect Procedure<\/h2>\n<p>SELC lawyers say if the Youngkin administration wanted to end RGGI, it<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Virginia law firm has sued Gov. Glenn Youngkin&#8217;s administration for pulling out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) filed a petition on behalf of several organizations in Fairfax, including the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals and Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":2016575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2016574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2016574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2016574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2016574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2016575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2016574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2016574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2016574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}