Youngkin administration outlines plan to withdraw Virginia from carbon market by regulation

Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration announced their newest plans for how they intend to withdraw Virginia from a regional carbon market Wednesday, a move critics say is not allowed by law, would drain important state programs of funding, and would hurt the fight against climate change.

Acting Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources Travis Voyles said at a State Air Pollution Control Board meeting that the administration plans to withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative through changes to the regulations that govern the state’s participation in the market.

The regulatory process typically takes 18 to 24 months from start to finish, after which the air board will vote on repealing the regulation.

The move is a pivot from the approach outlined in an executive order Youngkin issued at the start of his term. That plan called for a two-track approach that would first repeal the regulation through an emergency provision and then eliminate it permanently through the normal regulatory process.

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