Environment Virginia’s Response to Governor’s Energy Plan

Media Contacts
Sarah Bucci

Environment Virginia

In response to Governor McAuliffe’s new energy plan released Wednesday, Environment Virginia Campaign Director Sarah Bucci released the following statement:

“With rising seas threatening our coasts, the need to solve the climate crisis is more urgent than ever. It is disappointing that Governor McAuliffe’s energy plan doubles down on dirty energy while not doing enough to aid the growth of clean energy technologies.

“A recent Environment Virginia report shows that Virginia’s power plants emit as much carbon each year as the entire economy of Croatia. That’s clearly a problem, but instead of shifting Virginia away from dirty power and toward wind, solar, and energy efficiency, the governor’s plan pushes for drilling off our coast and increased exports of dirty energy.

“That’s not the future that Virginia deserves, and it’s not the climate leadership we expect from Governor McAuliffe. Fortunately, there is still an opportunity to get Virginia on the right track and we can start by embracing the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan and developing a state implementation plan that exceeds Virginia’s goals through energy efficiency and the deployment of truly clean energy.”