Virginia drops appeal of RGGI ruling, setting stage for re-entry into climate program

Glenn Youngkin’s dumb effort to withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative died for lack of continued support on Thursday.

The state, under the thumb of Youngkin and the MAGA attorney general, Jason Miyares, had been fighting a 2024 court order holding that the regulatory action from the Youngkin administration removing Virginia from RGGI was unlawful.

Youngkin is out of the governor’s office, and Miyares lost his bid for re-election to Democrat Jay Jones in November.

At Jones’s direction, the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality withdrew their appeal of the court order.

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ICYMI

• AG Jones takes legal step to return Virginia to Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

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“We have known from the beginning that the prior administration’s actions were unlawful. We are thrilled to see this lawsuit come to a successful close,” said Chase Counts, the executive director of the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals, which had sued the state over the Youngkin directive.

“We look forward to Virginia’s re-entry into RGGI and to renewing our work helping communities across Virginia reap the benefits of RGGI,” Counts said.

“RGGI is critical to Virginia’s affordable, clean energy future,” said Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Nate Benforado. “Virginians are the real winners here. Through participation in RGGI, we’ll see cleaner air and healthier communities, while generating steady proceeds to help communities fight flooding and struggling families slash their energy bills.”