Judge rules Virginia Gov. Youngkin can’t unilaterally withdraw from greenhouse gas agreement

A judge in Floyd County, Virginia ruled on Wednesday that Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin and his administration cannot pull the state out of an interstate carbon emission-capping agreement, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), without formal approval from the state Legislature.

Floyd County Circuit Court Judge Randall Lowe wrote in his opinion that “the only body with the authority to repeal the RGGI regulation would be the General Assembly" because a statute, the RGGI Act, "requires the RGGI regulation to exist.”

The state's General Assembly voted in favor of joining the multistate agreement under Ralph Northam, Youngkin's Democratic predecessor.

The pact requires its participants to buy allowances to offset their carbon emissions, which Youngkin has said leads to increased utility costs.