RICHMOND – After years of obstruction at the General Assembly, the legislature has finally voted to officially join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state cap-and-invest program that has been cutting carbon pollution since 2008, returning billions of dollars of environmental, economic, and public health benefits.
Yesterday’s 51-47 vote in the House of Delegates and 22-18 vote in the Senate paves the way for Virginia to begin cutting harmful power plant pollution while returning $100 million of revenue to the Commonwealth, funding that will be divided between efforts to help safeguard frontline communities from dangerous flooding, and energy efficiency programs for low-income Virginians.
En respuesta a la votación de hoy,Michael Town, director ejecutivo de la Virginia League of Conservation Voters, emitió la siguiente declaración:
“For the first time in Virginia’s history, the General Assembly is finally taking the climate crisis seriously. Passage of this legislation is good for clean air, our economy, public health, vulnerable communities, and our future. Joining RGGI is not a silver bullet in this fight – we still expect passage of comprehensive climate legislation in the coming days – but is a solid first step in addressing climate change in a way that will return years of dividends to the Commonwealth.”