The July 4th weekend ended with a bang on Monday night when the Charlottesville City Council unanimously passed a resolution urging Virginia’s legislature to clamp down on climate pollution.
The resolution calls on Virginia to join the nine-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). This program would make Virginia’s biggest polluters pay for the carbon they emit and send the money back to our state. We’re not talking chump change: RGGI is projected to generate $200 million annually for Virginia by 2020 to invest in clean energy and energy efficiency projects statewide, and to prepare Virginia’s vulnerable coast for rising seas. You can learn more about this policy solution on our Safe Coast campaign page.
With the Council’s 5-0 vote, Charlottesville became the second city after Norfolk to pass a resolution urging our General Assembly to act on this climate solution. Across the state, CCAN is urging city councils to pass resolutions in favor of Virginia joining RGGI. It’s a key part of our plan to build momentum in the lead up to next year’s legislative session.
We’ve got momentum behind us. In the 2015 General Assembly, CCAN worked with Del. Ron Villanueva (R-Virginia Beach) and Sen. Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) to introduce a bipartisan bill — called the Virginia Coastal Protection Act — that would have made Virginia the first southern state to join this successful pollution-cutting program. We came within one vote of passing the bill out of a key Senate committee, and saw an outpouring of support from Virginians across the state.
Building on this victory in Charlottesville, CCAN will push forward with supporters in other cities and counties across Virginia to pass resolutions. Email Statewide Organizer Charlie Spatz at charlie@chesapeakeclimate.org to get involved with a local campaign, or start your own!