Virginia Republican governor-elect pledges to remove state from regional carbon market

FILE PHOTO: Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin speaks during his election night party at a hotel in Chantilly, Virginia, U.S., November 3, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Virginia's Republican Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin this week pledged to remove the state from a regional cap and trade carbon market using "executive action."

Virginia passed a bill in March 2020 under Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a market-based program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants in 11 U.S. Northeast and mid-Atlantic states. The program has brought in $228 million to Virginia to fund state programs on energy efficiency and flooding.