Virginia Environmental Organizations' Core Recommendations to the Governor's Commission on Climate Change

The Governor’s Commission on Climate Change is meeting tomorrow, October 23. The current plan falls shockingly short of what scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst consequences of global warming. Governor Kaine’s plan would return Virginia to 2000 emissions levels by 2025. Scientists, in comparison, say we must cut emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2020! This means that by 2020 Virginia should reduce emissions 35% below the 2000 level. The Commission on Climate Change has the ability to increase those targets.

Virginia Environmental Organizations’ Core Recommendations to the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change

Secretary L. Preston Bryant, Chair and Members of the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change

Dear Mr. Secretary and Commission members,

We recognize that developing climate change policy recommendations is an extremely complex endeavor. The variety of sources of carbon emissions, combined with the even greater number of control measures, the uncertain economics, and the competing stakeholders make this a most difficult charge.
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Dominion's $500,000 influence

dominion logoDominion released their lobbying disclosure report yesterday and I wonder what they got with their $500,000. Eric Cantor has received nearly $25,000 from Dominion in the last year and he voted against environmental education, to eliminate a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, and against public transportation giving him an “ugly” rating by LCV.

But $25,000 is just a drop in the bucket compared to what Dominion has actually spent. They’ve spent nearly $500,000 was spent on lobbying expenses in just the last few months. Even this is a huge increase, compared to the $20,000 the previous quarter. View Dominion’s $500,000 disclosure report here>>

Obviously, the fight against climate change is between the people and Big Oil and Big Coal money. We can’t outspend the energy corporations but we can outnumber them.

Tax Holiday this weekend for Energy Star products

energy starOn the heels of the recent report released by ACEEE that shows that Virginians can reduce electricity demands by 20% in 20 years through efficiency measures, Gov Kaine has announced Virginia’s second annual sales tax holiday on energy efficient products. On Friday and Saturday of this week, Virginians will be exempt from paying sales tax on ENERGY STAR and WaterSense qualified products that cost $2,500 or less.

According to the ACEEE report, all of Virginia’s neighbors besides West Virginia rank higher in energy efficiency investments. Maryland, North Carolina and Washington DC all edge out Virginia, which is currently ranked at 32nd. As one of the most highly educated and wealthiest states in the nation, Virginia can do better. ACEEE recommends that Virginia enact strong policies that set strong targets, reduce peak demand and incentivize efficiency. Policies that have already been tested and proven in states like California, Oregon and Connecticut.

Instead, Virginia is building new, controversial and expensive coal plants like the one in Wise County. While Dominion has already asked for an 18% rate increase this year

Independent study shows that Virginia can provide for its energy needs to 2025 without building new coal plants

Press Statement
September 19, 2008

Sarah Rispin Staff Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center, 434-977-4090
Kayti Wingfield Sierra Club, Virginia Chapter, 540-470-0643
Tom Cormons Appalachian Voices, 301-910-8973

Richmond, Va. – The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) submitted a report today to Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, following months of analysis, showing that energy efficiency is a cheap, accessible and low-impact way to provide for the lion’s share of the growth in Virginia’s projected energy use through 2025. The report says that, even taking policy constraints into account, and rolling out less than half of the energy-efficiency measures that are cost-effective given current electricity rates, Virginia can achieve almost 28 million kilowatt hours (kWh) in energy savings by 2025. At the same time, such a program would save ratepayers $15 billion in energy bills, pump $11 billion in investments into the Virginia economy, and create over 9,800 jobs in the state. This is more than double the rate of savings that Virginia’s 2007 electric utility restructuring legislation recommends.

Wise Energy for Virginia lauds the report, which shows clearly that energy efficiency

Fear on their Faces; Hope in their Eyes. VA Citizens Demand Real Solutions for Climate Change

I saw fear yesterday on the faces of the men and women directly affected by the proposed Wise County coal plant who had just driven 8 hours to testify before the Governors Climate Commission. They knew that their land, their health, and their beautiful landscapes were the ones being sacrificed for our runaway energy demands. That fear and concern was most eloquently expressed by Bill McCabe who challenged the commission to actually think and care about the people most affected by dirty energy. To try and relate to the 91 year old woman who could sit on her porch her whole life and enjoy the mountains, worship God with the mountains, and live in a healthy environment with land she has always known. Now the same woman comes outside to her porch to see her familiar mountains flattened and toxic waste left behind.

The nearly 200 citizens that flooded the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change yesterday were concerned about our addiction to dirty energy no matter what part of Virginia they came from. There were the school teachers from NOVA who did not want to use power at the expense of their neighbor’s rights and the college students who could not understand why Virginia’s leaders would blatantly ignore climate scientists about the consequences of building new coal plants. The overwhelming consensus at this hearing was that the commission has to recognize that global warming is real and deal with it aggressively. Residents insisted that VA would be perfect for leading the country in renewable energy and emphasized that its skilled labor force could be at the forefront of the burgeoning green jobs movement to replace dirty industries. Continue reading

Governor

Press Release: August 27, 2008

Contact

Chesapeake Climate Action Network: Steve Calos (804) 714-8300
Sierra Club, Virginia Chapter: Glen Besa (804) 225-9113
Appalachian Voices: Tom Cormons (434) 293-6373
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards: Kathy Selvage (276) 219-2721
Greater Washington Interfaith Power & Light: Allison Fisher (202) 885-8684
Environment Virginia: J.R. Tolbert (434) 979-9825

Governor’s Climate Commission Calls Virginia “Particularly Vulnerable,” to Global Warming
Groups Unveil Recommendations to Climate Commission Focused on Pollution Reductions and Money-Saving Energy Efficiency Measures

RICHMOND, August 27-Governor Kaine’s Commission on Climate Change released its draft report this week saying Virginia is “at particular risk” from global warming. The Commission found that the Hampton Roads region is second only to the New Orleans region in its vulnerability to sea level rise.

Commission members must now determine how to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental groups unveiled their recommendations to the Commission at a press conference today highlighting the opportunities created by an increased investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Groups also stressed that the Commission’s current pollution reduction goal falls short of what scientists say is necessary.

 “Given the findings of the Governor’s own Climate Commission, global warming poses an enormous threat to Virginia,” said Mike Tidwell, Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “Scientists have been sounding the alarm for years and it’s heartening to see Virginia stepping up to the challenge. I urge the Commission and Governor to act boldly to reduce global warming pollution in the Commonwealth.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, made up of 2,000 climate scientists from around the world, say we can avoid the worst effects of global warming by reducing global warming pollution 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Governor Kaine’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent below projected 2025 levels by that year falls short of what scientists say is necessary.

“The Climate Commission is tasked with meeting a goal that falls way short of what is necessary to avoid the worst impacts from global warming,” said Glen Besa of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “The Commission needs establish science-based targets for emission reductions and not accept targets that may be merely politically acceptable.”

Students joined Appalachian Voices, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Environment Virginia, Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light, Sierra Club, and Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards to present their recommendations to the Commission at a public hearing. In addition to calling for an increased pollution reduction goal of 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, groups called for more investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

“Virginia has an enormous opportunity to secure a clean energy future that will invigorate the economy and curb emissions of harmful greenhouse gases,” said Tom Cormons, Virginia Campaign Coordinator for Appalachian Voices. “Moving decisively to invest in efficiency and renewable energy will ensure the continued prosperity of the Commonwealth.”

The groups recommended the Commission establish a Public Benefits Fund to provide financial incentives for conservation and energy efficiency. They also proposed requiring electricity providers to obtain a 20 percent of their power from renewable energy resources by 2020, which will spur investment in renewable energy and create new jobs in the Commonwealth.

They also called for a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants, including the one planned in Wise County.

“Building a new coal-burning plant that spews out 5.4 million tons of carbon dioxide each year puts Virginia on exactly the wrong path at a time when the state is focused on reducing its greenhouse gas emissions,” said CCAN’s Tidwell. “This one coal plant will spew out as much pollution as adding nearly one million new cars to the road, and completely negates much of the conservation work already in place in Virginia. It just doesn’t make sense.”

 

“As a young person growing up with the realities of climate change, I recognize that global warming is the single greatest threat to my generation, said Carly Vendegna, a student at University of Richmond. “Without bold and immediate action, our impact on the earth’s climate will change life as we know it. I came out today to urge the Commission to take that bold, immediate action.”

Recommendations on how to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Commonwealth will be made in the Commission’s final report. In the meantime, the four workgroups that make up the Commission will focus on how Virginia can adapt to climate change and the actions needed to be taken to achieve the greenhouse gas reduction goal. The final report is due December 15, 2008.

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Governor Kaine Announces Air Board Appointments

State Air Pollution Control Board


Randolph Gordon M.D. of Mechanicsville, specialist leader at Deloitte Consulting. Gordon holds a master’s degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, a medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia, and fulfills the statutory recommendation that the Air Pollution Control Board have public health representation. He served as the State Health Commissioner from 1995-1998 and is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University, an environmental center focused on education and policy development regarding rivers.

Bernadette W. Reese of Chesapeake, senior environmental engineer and facilities manager at BASF Corporation. As senior environmental engineer, Reese has developed compliance strategies to meet federal, state and local air, water, solid and hazardous waste regulations. Reese holds a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia.

Sterling E. Rives III of the City of Richmond, county attorney for Hanover County. Rives has served as Hanover’s county attorney since 1987. He is a graduate of the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond. He served from 1999-2008 on the board of directors for Campaign Virginia, an environmental advocacy group focused on environmentally sound waste management policies.