Virginia Poised to Address Rising Energy Bills and Climate Change
Virginia appears set to reconfirm its membership in an important multistate climate action pact known as RGGI – the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Incoming Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger will be sworn in on January 17th. Spanberger campaigned for controlling the rise in electric bills as part of her winning 2025 race, in part by implementing programs supporting energy efficiency and clean energy development. Those programs include the RGGI, which among other benefits supports funding energy efficiency upgrades for low-income homeowners.
Reducing Cost by Building Energy Efficiency
Spanberger says she will ensure that the state rejoins RGGI. “If we were actually leveraging RGGI dollars for weatherization projects as prescribed by the programmer, we could be reducing the cost for Virginians by building up on energy efficiency,” Spanberger said.
Spanberger’s energy priorities mesh with those of the new leadership of Virginia’s state legislature. Legislation known as the Virginia Clean Economy Act would boost the clean energy folio requirements for state utilities, including battery storage and solar energy. The legislature had passed similar legislation previously, but it was vetoed by outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Past Governor Sought To Withdraw from RGGI
Youngkin was behind the effort to withdraw Virgina from the RGGI pact in the first place, initiating that push as soon as he took office in 2021. State legislators and private lawsuits fought Youngkin for four years with mixed results. Most recently, a Virginia judge declared that the action by a Youngkin-appointed state board to withdraw from the pact exceeded its legal authority.
After that decision was announced last November, the state’s lame-duck Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares (a Youngkin ally) announced that he would fight it on appeal. However, the incoming Virginia Attorney General is Democrat Jay Jones, a Spanberger ally, who is expected to drop that appeal.
During its 2025 elections, pro-environment Democratic candidates swept the state’s top three executive officials (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General) as well as majorities of both chambers of Virginia’s state legislature. As a result, the state is expected to broadly reverse course from the Youngkin years and push hard for climate action, clean energy, and energy efficiency.
What Does this Mean for NC and the US?
Elections have consequences. Climate action and clean energy won big in Virginia’s 2025 elections. This shows voters are choosing candidates that run on addressing the climate crisis and lowering energy bills for hardworking families and communities.
Clean energy has become the more affordable and sustainable option, but big oil lobbies hard to maintain dominance in the energy sector. We must elect leaders who work for the people in order to address climate change and lower our energy bills. We at NCLCV are working to ensure NC elects climate and community champions in this year’s elections.
Help us elect more climate champions by supporting us today.
