Environment Virginia Response to State of the Commonwealth Speech

Environment Virginia

Richmond, VA – Tonight, Governor Terry McAuliffe addressed the Joint Assembly to deliver his first State of the Commonwealth. Sarah Bucci, Environment Virginia Campaign Director, responded with the following statement:

“Tonight, Governor McAuliffe showed he understands the threat of climate change and addressed the important need for Virginia to be ready to respond to increasing extreme weather events.

“In fact, 9 out of 10 Virginians live in a city or county that has been hit by a federally declared weather-related disaster in recent years. Scientists say that extreme weather events will become more frequent and more severe if we don’t tackle the carbon pollution fueling climate change.

“We are counting on Governor McAuliffe to take a lead in tackling climate change in the commonwealth by continuing to address the issue in his public statements and policy decisions, taking bold steps to reduce Virginia’s carbon emissions through clean energy solutions like wind, solar and energy efficiency and supporting action by the U.S. Environmental Protections Agency to limit carbon pollution from power plants.

“Environment Virginia calls on our decision-makers at the local, state and federal level to cut carbon pollution by cleaning up the largest sources of pollution, shifting to clean, renewable energy, and using less energy overall.

“We have an obligation to future generations to take steps to address the carbon pollution that threatens our health, our communities and our economy.