Virginia regulators expected to vote on Youngkin plan to withdraw from climate initiative

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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia regulators are expected to hold a final vote Wednesday on whether to move forward with Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s plan to withdraw from a multi-state carbon emissions reduction and trading program.

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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 tackle climate change. But that has been reversed since Yongkin, a Republican who says the program acts as a regressive tax on electricity users, took office in January 2022.

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A final decision to repeal by the state’s air pollution control board — which is controlled by Yongkin appointees and the withdrawal supported in an earlier 4-1 vote with two abstentions — would remove one of the last remaining hurdles to the governor’s proposal, though She is expected to eventually face a legal challenge.

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The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, is an effort by 12 states in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. Participating countries require plants with a certain generating capacity to buy allowances for emitting 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 of the proceeds from the sale of the suits—which have come in at nearly $590 million so far—are split between efforts to help areas affected by frequent flooding and sea level rise, and a state-run account to support energy efficiency programs for low-income individuals.

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Yongkin, who acknowledges the threat posed by climate change and has pledged to tackle sea level rise, says his concerns with RGGI (pronounced “reggie”) focus on the state’s electric utility policy and a 2020 law 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 considered environmental compliance costs that could be recovered from rate payers for monopoly utilities Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power.

“The imposition of an RGGI ‘carbon tax’ fails to provide any incentive to change behaviour. The current law allows power generators, such as Dominion Energy, to pass on all of their costs, essentially bearing no cost for carbon credits,” a 2022 management report states.

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Nate Benforado, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, disputed this argument, pointing out that independent energy producers who are regulated differently and account for about 30% of Virginia’s energy sector emissions should also comply.

In a public comment on the proposal, the SELC said Virginia’s emissions levels had stagnated in the decade prior to joining RGGI followed by a “clear shift” in reductions in the years since.

“Virginia’s total annual carbon dioxide emissions from power plants decreased 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% in just two years,” the group said. . Data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Some RGGI critics question whether it was due to participation in the program or other factors.

About 1,900 commenters posted through an online portal to oppose the governor’s proposal during the most recent public comment period, compared with about 600 supporters.

Among those backing the cancellation was Dominion, which serves about 2.7 million customers in Virginia. The tool writes that RGGI’s participation does not further the carbon reduction goal but “instead injects additional unnecessary costs on Virginia customers without evidence of incremental benefits.”

So far, Dominion has incurred about $490 million in compliance costs and recovered about $267 million from customers, said spokesman Aaron Roby.

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Appalachian Power spokeswoman Teresa Hamilton-Hall said the company has incurred $742,000 in costs since 2021, and most regulators have said the company could recover.

“Compliance with RGGI increases costs for clients,” she said.

RGGI’s advocates have also argued that the manner in which the Youngkin administration sought to leave the program—through administrative actions after legislative attempts were defeated—is illegal.

“We fully anticipate vigorous and ultimately successful legal challenges by any number of parties who would be harmed by this action,” said Walton Shepherd, Virginia policy director and lead attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

A final yes vote by the board will push the proposal into an executive review period, after which it will be posted to the Virginia Register and can then be subject to legal challenge.

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