VA Bails on Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative - Public News Service

VA Bails on Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative / Public News Service

Virginia's Air Pollution Control Board has voted to leave the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

RGGI is a cooperative effort among multiple states to cap and reduce carbon-dioxide emissions from their power sectors.

But Virginia has moved in a different direction - becoming a growing hub for data centers, which are known for their high electricity use.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership finds more than 20% of all hyperscale data centers worldwide are in Northern Virginia.

Maya Domeshek, research associate with Resources for the Future, said RGGI kept emissions from these centers low.

"If you're living in a world where electricity demand is increasing and you're building renewable resources, that's not necessarily enough to guarantee that you emit fewer greenhouse gases," said Domeshek. "You also need a policy that's going to require reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and that's the role that RGGI was playing."

The U.S. Energy Information Administration finds Virginia consumes more electricity than it generates, and gets additional power from two regional grids.

Earlier this year, Virginians weighed in with public comments on whether the state should be part of RGGI or leave. A majority said the state should stay.

Now, 11 states remain in the initiative.

Several policies, including the Virginia Clean Economy Act, aim to get the state to reduce fossil-fuel use and move toward cleaner energy sources. Domeshek described how they might shape up without RGGI.

"With Virginia outside of RGGI," said Domeshek, "it'll be important for those hoping the state moves toward cleaner energy to really pay attention to what its utilities are doing - and whether they are, in fact, meeting the other goals of the Virginia Clean Economy Act."

Revenues from RGGI were slated to help the state address the worsening effects of climate change.

The latest report from Resources for the Future notes the state established a Climate Resilience Fund early last year, using $25 million from RGGI.

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The Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition says a record number of bills related to environmental justice were filed in this year's legislative session. But only one was signed by Gov. Joe Lombardo.

Coordinator for the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition Cinthia Moore said Assembly Bill 131 will create the Urban Tree Forestry Program, allowing towns and cities to go after funding to plant more trees and help mitigate the effects of urban heat islands.

But many other conservation-related bills either didn't make it out of the legislature or were vetoed by the governor. Moore said even the defeats send a strong message.

" SB 427 is the bill that the NEJC brought forward, with Sen. Edgar Flores," said Moore. "Even though it died in the Assembly, it has made it possible for people to realize that doing something to protect our outdoor workers and those that are exposed to extreme weather conditions - it's important to protect them."

Moore said conversations are already taking place to revise the bill and bring it back next session.

She added that they have commitments from various labor groups and state Sen. Flores - D-Las Vegas - who are willing to work together and make the bill stronger.

SB 169 was vetoed by the governor. It would have required Clark and Washoe counties to include heat mitigation plans in their long-term development strategy.

Moore's group called the veto "disheartening" and said it raises questions about Lombardo's willingness to address climate change.

And AB 312 would have created an Environmental Justice Advisory Council, but also failed to advance. Moore said it wasn't all for nothing.

"The coalition has been successful at changing the narrative around climate policy," said Moore. "So, what we have been successful at is putting a face, and human stories, around the need to address climate change."

Moving forward, Moore said the coalition is asking the governor and state lawmakers to act with urgency to address environmental injustice and find solutions that will benefit all Nevadans.

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From conservation to sportsmen's groups, the U.S. Supreme Court is getting plenty of backlash over its most recent ruling, which weakens federal protections for wetlands.

The 5-4 decision in Sackett v. EPA means wetlands are only protected by the Clean Water Act if they have a "continuous surface connection" with a larger, navigable body of water.

Sam Sankar, senior vice president of programs for EarthJustice, warned the ruling puts millions of acres of wetlands at risk, including in Pennsylvania.

"According to the National Wetlands Inventory, there are just over half a million acres of wetlands in Pennsylvania, and all of those wetlands are threatened by the decision of the Supreme Court," Sankar asserted.

The ruling is a victory for an Idaho couple who sued the Environmental Protection Agency after being denied a federal permit to build a home on land which included wetlands. Sankar noted some farmers, developers, and landowners may cheer the decision but might not understand the benefits of wetlands to the environment, in terms of flood control, water quality, and wildlife habitat.

Sankar added the ruling imperils the safety of drinking water for millions of Pennsylvanians whose drinking water sources are downstream of wetlands no longer protected from pollution or development following the court's decision.

"If wetlands aren't protected, there's going to be more pollution, more flooding, more drought,"

Sankar projected. "And that means that surface waters that are inextricably intertwined with the wetlands are going to be degraded as well. Those surface waters are often the place where our communities get their water from, and so, eliminating protection for wetlands threatens drinking water."

Sankar stressed Earthjustice is among the groups asking Congress to use its power to negate the ruling. Some states also have said they will enforce their own, state-level protections.

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