Governor Glenn Youngkin Disagrees

On January 15, 2022, Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, was sworn into office. That same day, Governor Youngkin signed Executive Order 9, entitled “Protecting ratepayers from the rising cost of living due to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.”
Soon after the Governor announced his intention to repeal the RGGI through an emergency regulatory action under the Virginia Administrative Process Act, there were several attempts to repeal the 2020 RGGI Act and end Virginia’s participation in RGGI but none succeeded.
On May 16, 2022, Governor Youngkin announced four Air Pollution Control Board appointments.
On December 7, 2022, the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board convened a public meeting with all seven members present and the Air Pollution Control Board voted 4-1 to repeal the RGGI Regulation.
On August 21, 2023, state environmental groups sued the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, arguing that Virginia’s withdrawal from RGGI was illegal. The lawsuit was filed in Fairfax County and is still pending.