Virginia Climate News
A Circuit Court judge has ruled that Gov. Youngkin’s effort to administratively withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) was illegal “and therefore void as a matter of law.” The General Assembly passed the law in 2020 requiring the state to take part in the RGGI carbon market that sets a cap on carbon emissions.
Demands for power in Virginia are projected to double in the next 15 years. Lawmakers, utilities, energy regulators and other interested parties, therefore, recently met to discuss how Virginia’s growing power needs may be met in conjunction with the goals of the Virginia Clean Economy Act aiming for zero-carbon emissions by 2050.
Google, which owns three data centers in Northern Virginia, co-hosted a private meeting in Richmond with Virginia energy officials to discuss how electric grid investments can meet data centers’ rising energy needs. The additional amounts of needed natural gas, renewable, and nuclear electricity generation facilities will significantly increase electricity costs for consumers.
Local officials in Southside Virginia have approved about 13,000 megawatts of solar projects, which is nearly half of Virginia’s solar power generation approved by local governments. The percentage of new solar projects that local governments have approved in the past eight years has steadily declined, creating a state-versus-local tension over who approves solar projects.
Now through January 31st: The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is doing a survey to shape greenhouse gas reduction plans for the 2025 Climate Action Plan. Let’s do this! Climate Pollution Reduction Grant | Virginia DEQ
Our Climate Crisis
Nearly half of the world experienced extreme drought last year, a rate three times higher than in the 1980s. Climate change is shifting global rainfall patterns, making some regions more prone to drought. The increase in drought has been particularly severe in South America, the Middle East, and the Horn of Africa.
October was one of the driest months in the US. Some regions have swung from one extreme to the next. Hurricane Helene ravaged the southern Appalachians with up to 30 inches of rain at the end of September, creating catastrophic flooding that reshaped the region forever. But the same area hasn’t recorded an inch of rain in October.
The unusually dry weather in the US has been particularly noticeable in the Northeast, where a record-breaking dry spell and abnormally high temperatures have lowered reservoirs and fueled wildfires in New York and New Jersey, states unaccustomed to fighting hundreds of blazes this time of year. New York City and 10 surrounding counties issued a drought warning.
Nearly 20 inches of rain fell on parts of eastern Spain in eight hours, causing catastrophic floods and loss of human life. It’s the deadliest disaster in the country’s recent history and a foretaste of the extreme storms that the region can expect because of global warming.
The world’s warming tropical wetlands have released methane at the fastest rate ever in the past 5 years. This is an alarming sign that the world’s climate goals are slipping further out of reach. More than 150 countries have pledged to deliver 30% cuts in methane emissions from 2020 levels by 2030 but that may not be enough to meet climate goals.
Politics and Policy
Frustration is growing with the COP29 UN climate talks; especially the growing presence and influence of fossil fuel interests. Some are calling for fundamental reform. A letter signed by former U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon, former U.N. climate secretary Christiana Figueres and former Ireland President Mary Robinson calls for a fundamental overhaul of the COP.
After backroom deals, COP29’s late $300bn climate finance deal left many poorer countries outraged. About $1.3tn a year will be needed by 2035 to help poor countries shift to a low-carbon economy and adapt their infrastructure to the impacts of extreme weather and for the world to stay within the 1.5C limit.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain told delegates at the COP29 UN climate conference in Azerbaijan, that his country would aim to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2035. Britain is positioning itself as a destination for companies that want to invest in the clean energy transition at a time when US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to roll back clean energy incentives.
At the COP29 climate conference, China has been presenting itself as a stable and reliable global leader, seeking to draw a contrast ahead of a second Trump era. Chinese Premier Ding told delegates, “Regardless of how the international situation or other countries’ policies change, China’s resolve and actions to actively address climate change will not waver.”
Political scientists are finding evidence that climate disasters and global warming create fertile ground for political strongmen to come to power. In the face of physical, economic, and social vulnerability, voters seek safety in the form of authoritarian leaders who promise to take decisive action.
Countries have made little progress in curbing their greenhouse gas emissions over the past year. The climate and energy policies currently pursued by governments around the world would cause global temperatures to rise roughly 2.7 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by 2100. That’s far above the 1.5C target set by the Paris Climate Accord.
Chris Wright, president-elect Trump’s pick for energy secretary, is a fracking executive who downplays the climate crisis. Some Republicans are, however, trying to build a conservative environmental movement, laying out the case for a cleaner future by emphasizing the economy, innovation, and competition with China.
A $6 billion federal program that aims to clean up greenhouse gas emissions in 33 industrial facilities, from steel mills to snack plants, could face big cuts in president-elect Trump’s second term. The planning is in its early stages and money that isn’t committed could potentially be pulled back after Trump takes office.
Energy
Countries are burning more coal, oil and natural gas than ever after promising to start moving away from them at last year’s climate summit. Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels are on track to reach a record high this year. They will likely decline in the United States and Europe, and slow in China. Yet that is offset by a surge in India and the rest of the world.
New York City is testing an electric-school-bus microgrid with solar power and battery backup. The buses, solar panels, and batteries can modulate when they pull power from the grid, as well as send power back to the grid as needed. The plan is to build out the microgrid to include 10,000 electric buses in the next decade.
The largest offshore wind farm in the US is on budget and on time, with a projected completion date in late 2026. It is being built off the shore of Virginia by Dominion Energy and will generate enough clean energy to power up to 660,000 homes when it is fully operational.
Sodium-ion batteries have emerged as a promising cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to lithium-ion batteries. The biggest limitation of sodium-ion batteries is their size and weight meaning that their most likely use will be for stationary applications such as grid batteries.
The US government unveiled a nuclear expansion plan to meet growing energy demand. It would add 15 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2035, with a goal of reaching 200 gigawatts by 2050. New nuclear plants may include modular and microreactors rather than traditional large stations. Increased reliance on nuclear power also raises health and safety concerns.
Food and Agriculture
Climate change is worsening an ongoing drought, the worst in a century, pushing 27 million people in southern Africa to the brink of starvation. An unprecedented dry spell, in the middle of what should have been the region’s rainy season, wiped out more than half the harvest in some countries.
In Greece, the chestnut harvest is expected to drop 50% following 13 months of drought and severe heat. This is Greece’s warmest winter and summer on record and is the latest sign of the impact of climate change on crops across southern Europe. Drought conditions in Spain, Portugal and France already bode ill for yields of various crops in those countries.
Climate Justice
Extreme weather’s global economic toll was $2 trillion in the past decade, with the U.S., China, and India bearing the highest economic losses. Some small island nations suffered the most economic damage per capita, underscoring the vulnerability of poorer, climate-exposed regions.
Indigenous nations are collaborating to bring back bison to North America’s grasslands, re-establishing ecological and cultural connections nearly erased by colonization. These animals are ecological engineers, reshaping the landscape to its natural balance, boosting biodiversity and contributing to climate resilience.
A new generation of lithium-ion battery called LFP is becoming increasingly popular among automakers due to its advantages on cost, safety, and materials. They do not contain materials like nickel, manganese, or cobalt. Mining these minerals takes a heavy environmental toll and the exploitation of workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Myanmar.
Climate Action
The Inflation Reduction Act is giving American families $8.8 billion for energy upgrades on their homes. One program assists with whole-house energy-saving installations and another helps renters and homeowners transition to electric appliances. Check out this savings calculator to help determine what upfront savings and tax rebates and incentives are available.
New York City will revive its congestion-pricing program, but at a reduced rate of a $9 toll for most vehicles to enter Midtown and Lower Manhattan. The plan will reduce traffic and clear the air on New York City streets, while raising roughly $1 billion each year to support the city’s ailing subways, buses and two commuter train lines.
Heat pumps used to struggle in the cold but new advanced models can be more than 100% efficient even in subzero temperatures. They can be three to four times more efficient than traditional heaters, slashing a home’s energy costs and carbon emissions.
Katharine Hayhoe, the chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy, is deeply concerned about the results of our national election because global warming is a present crisis. As a Christian, she gives this post-election advice: fight fear, embrace hope and work together. She points to the example of many characters in the Bible who persevered against great odds.
Rural India has notoriously unreliable electricity with frequent power blackouts. Now refurbished EV batteries are providing stable electricity for tailors and other small businesses, allowing them to increase income and productivity.
A project off the coast of Newport, Oregon, aims to convert the power of waves into energy and help catch up to Europe in developing this new technology. The buoy-like contraptions, located several miles offshore, will deliver up to 20 megawatts of energy—enough to power thousands of homes and businesses.
Earl Zimmerman is a member of the Steering Committee of the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley.
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