Press Releases

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who represents a Northern Virginia district in the U.S. House and serves as co-chair of the Safe Climate Caucus, strongly objected today to Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin’s announcement that he would withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

“Withdrawing from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative would mean Glenn Youngkin’s first steps as Governor are steps backwards. I strongly urge him to reconsider that course,” said Rep. Beyer. “The Virginia Clean Energy Economy Act is law which cannot be undone by executive fiat, our Commonwealth should and legally must meet these important clean energy targets. RGGI brings millions of dollars to Virginia to help with that transition, a transition that also is vital to addressing the coastal flooding the Governor-elect promised to combat. An executive order that costs Virginia dearly in the middle and long term is not a good financial move, and it isn’t the kind of pragmatic approach that Virginians expect from their elected leaders in either party. The Governor-elect has time to take a closer look at this and rethink his decision, and he should.”

Beyer chairs Congress’ Joint Economic Committee and serves on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. He recently attended the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.