Virginia is rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap-and-trade program aimed at reducing carbon emissions. This move comes amid debates over whether such market-based mechanisms effectively lower emissions or simply increase electricity costs for consumers. Critics point to Pennsylvania's history with RGGI, arguing that regulatory uncertainty discouraged energy investment and impacted grid reliability. The discussion highlights the tension between aggressive climate policy and the energy needs of high-growth industries like AI data centers.
