Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration cannot withdraw from a multistate initiative designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without gaining approval from the state Legislature, a judge ruled Monday.
Judge C. Randall Lowe issued the ruling in Floyd County after finding Virginia’s Air Pollution Control Board acted unlawfully when it voted last year to withdraw the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
Virginia joined the initiative under Youngkin’s Democrat predecessor, Ralph Northam, in 2020, at a time when Democrats also had control of the Legislature.
The RGGI, a cooperative effort among 11 states to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants, is the first cap-and-invest regional initiative implemented in the United States….