Activists Across Virginia Rally Against Gov. Youngkin’s Repeal of Popular RGGI Program

In four rallies, activists deliver suppressed public comments previously submitted to Virginia DEQ in support of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)

 

RICHMOND, VA: Yesterday, scores of activists across Virginia rallied against Governor Glenn Youngkin’s plan to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). In Richmond, Norfolk, Woodbridge, and Blacksburg, crowds of concerned Virginians spoke up for the popular and highly beneficial program, which has already generated more than $624 million for flood resilience and energy efficiency programs across the Commonwealth.[1]

Analysis from the Southern Environmental Law Center shows that 88% of Virginians who submitted public comments expressed support for RGGI. But when Youngkin’s government reviewed those public comments, they ignored a vast majority of the pro-RGGI comments, classifying them as “off-topic.” 

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

In Woodbridge, more than 30 activists broadcast audio of the Youngkin administration calling pro-RGGI comments “off-topic,” then delivered suppressed comments to the regional Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) office. They also displayed them on signs for the public to see, and read them aloud, before singing together: “The tide is rising and so are we.”

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Victoria Higgins, Virginia Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, stated: “The simple truth is that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative has been overwhelmingly successful in reducing air pollution in Virginia and regionally; it has continuously overperformed by creating hundreds of millions of dollars every year for essential programs that deliver results to Virginians who need them most; and it is an indispensable tool in our fight against climate change. RGGI just works – it works to protect our coasts and low-lying areas from flooding, to keep Virginians in their homes, and to drive down energy bills for low-income Virginians. Without RGGI, Governor Youngkin has no plan to deliver these life-saving programs to Virginians. We will fight back against his illegitimate, anti-democratic, anti-scientific agenda at every chance we get.”

Jordan Seurattan, Northern Virginia Organizer with the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, stated: “The people have spoken time and again, but Governor Youngkin won’t listen. Governor Youngkin believes he can gaslight us into believing that RGGI is harmful for Virginia, when in reality it’s his policies that are hurting our communities. When people in power use their position to put polluters first, it’s up to us to hold them accountable. That’s why we are here today. To tell Youngkin that he’s not fooling us, and Virginian’s deserve better.” 

 

 

 

RICHMOND

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Meanwhile, in Richmond, steps away from the Governor’s Mansion, Mayor Levar Stoney and City Council Member Katherine Jordan joined the call for Youngkin to stop his unlawful efforts to kneecap Virginia’s biggest climate adaptation program.

 

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney related a personal experience: “Folks who are living hand-to-mouth, who are living paycheck to paycheck…these funds are going to help with upgrades to make their homes more energy efficient, let it help them cool or heat their homes. People like my grandmother are living paycheck to paycheck on a fixed income. It’s hard to afford a day’s living on a fixed income. These dollars would help people like my grandmother, grandmothers all across not just the city of Richmond but the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

 

 

Photo by Jen Lawhorne, Appalachian Voices

NORFOLK

Down in Norfolk, community members were joined by Norfolk City Councilwoman Andria McClellan to rally virtually in the face of thunderstorms and discuss the benefits of RGGI in Norfolk, where the RGGI-backed Community Flood Preparedness Fund has funded a flood protection system.view?usp=sharing

 

Norfolk City Councilwoman Andria McClellan stated: “RGGI is a drop in the bucket and if we can’t save this, how are we going to find funding for everything we need to do?”view

Mary-Carson Stiff, Director of Wetlands Watch, stated: “This is the only source of grant funding for flood preparedness and climate adaptation in Virginia. It’s it. The proceeds are consistent and reliable, which our communities need so they can plan to apply and then continue applying for years to come.” 

BLACKSBURG 

And in Blacksburg, 15 protesters gathered bearing colorful signs and t-shirts to make their voices loud and clear and spread the word about support for RGGI.

view?usp=sharingPhoto from Chesapeake Climate Action Network

The New River Valley Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America stated: “Governor Youngkin’s decision to remove Virginia from the RGGI will have lasting consequences for southwest Virginians and the mountains they love. We needed to organize this rally to make sure Virginia voters understand what we stand to lose without action on climate.”

 

The four rallies were organized by Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Appalachian Voices, Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, Sierra Club – Falls of the James Chapter, Third Act Virginia, and Virginia League of Conservation Voters.

Broad Coalition Urges Biden Administration to Expand Offshore Wind Maps

Coalition states: “We are proposing a win-win solution that would nearly double the acreage available for offshore wind”


ANNAPOLIS, MD—
Today, a coalition of unions, developers, justice organizations, and climate organizations sent a joint public letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) urging the agency to expand the areas designated for offshore wind in the Central Atlantic.

BOEM is in the process of finalizing new maps for offshore wind development in the region, and has proposed new leasing areas that are too small to meet the region’s offshore wind mandates. A coalition of advocates have proposed an alternative map that would nearly double the new leasing area for offshore wind while meeting the needs of all other ocean users.

The letter includes, in part:

“BOEM estimates that, as currently proposed, the new Central Atlantic lease areas would accommodate between 4 and 8 gigawatts of offshore wind. Even taking the upper estimate of this range, the lease areas cannot accommodate the offshore wind needed in this region. Virginia is required by law to build 5.2 gigawatts of offshore wind. North Carolina must build 8 gigawatts of offshore wind, and Maryland just passed a law to build 8.5 gigawatts. Some of that energy can come from existing lease areas, but to meet those targets set in law, those three states need more than 11 gigawatts of offshore wind in the new lease areas. On top of that, Delaware is also reliant on the Central Atlantic for its offshore wind energy, and while it is not currently building any, it is expected to pass its first offshore wind legislation in 2024.

Offshore wind is vital to our future. It holds the promise of affordable, clean energy that creates hundreds of good union jobs and reduces air pollution. Limiting offshore wind comes with costs. It means fewer jobs, worse pollution, and a less affordable and reliable transition to a clean energy economy. While there are other ocean users whose needs must be accommodated, we are proposing a win-win solution that would nearly double the acreage available for offshore wind in the Central Atlantic while not reducing the width or number of Coast Guards fairways and while not encroaching on ocean space conflicted with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). We hope BOEM will expand the space available for offshore wind in the Central Atlantic by adopting the map [provided].”

Click HERE to read the letter in full.

Coalition signers include: Advanced Energy United ● Audubon Mid-Atlantic ● Baltimore-DC Metro Building and Construction Trades Council ● Business Network for Offshore Wind ● CASA ● Chesapeake Climate Action Network ● Climate Law & Policy Project ● Climate Reality Greater Maryland ● Elders Climate Action Maryland ● Environmental Justice Ministry Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church ● IBEW Local Union 24 ● Indivisible Howard County ● Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake ● Ironworkers Mid-Atlantic States District Council ● MAREC Action ● Maryland LCV ● Maryland Legislative Coalition ● MLC Climate Justice Wing ● NAACP Maryland State Conference, Environmental and Climate Justice Committee ● Strum Contracting Company Inc. ● Unitarian Universalist Environmental Justice Ministry ● United Steelworkers District 8

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The Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the oldest and largest grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with climate change  in the Chesapeake Bay region. For 20 years, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Biden Administration issues woefully insufficient offshore wind lease areas for the Central Atlantic

On July 31, the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) failed to live up to President Joe Biden’s promise of an all-of-government approach to tackling the climate crisis. The offshore wind lease areas for the Central Atlantic that BOEM issued are woefully insufficient. Combined, the new lease areas total only 356,550 acres, which is not enough space for the region to meet its offshore wind energy goals.  

Offshore wind has the promise to bring good union jobs to our region, lower energy prices, and slash pollution, but the maps BOEM released today will limit the benefit wind will be able to bring to the Central Atlantic. At a time when heat waves are costing the US billions of dollars, President Biden should be clearing the way for as much affordable, clean energy as possible. We urge President Biden to direct BOEM to open up more federal waters for offshore wind development and to ensure that the B-1 lease area is not shrunk any further. We also urge BOEM to open up a new Central Atlantic leasing process for additional shallow and deep water areas within one year.