Virginia RGGI background history:

  • Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe issued Executive Order 57 in 2016, instructing the Secretary of Natural Resources to establish a group that would study and recommend methods to reduce emissions from power companies.
  • In 2017, Governor McAuliffe issued an executive directive instructing the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to develop regulations to limit emissions from electric power facilities using market-based mechanisms that allow for the trading of allowances.
  • The Air Pollution Control Board approved the program on April 19, 2019. The Original RGGI Regulation was never implemented due to objections in the General Assembly.
  • Following the 2019 elections, the 2020 General Assembly reversed its position on RGGI and passed a law granting the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality the authority to sell carbon allowances directly through the RGGI auctions like every other state participating in RGGI.
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