Youngkin’s underhanded attempt to exit a regional climate compact

A bench amid floodwater in 2018 in downtown Norfolk. (Timothy C. Wright/For the Washington Post)

In the face of dire news on climate change from the scientific community and on the ground across our country, the lack of action on climate solutions at the congressional level is inexplicable and infuriating.

Given the times we find ourselves in, it’s even more imperative that Virginia remain in the proven and tested Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative — a program in which polluters pay and people benefit from tangible solutions to improve their lives. Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) must stop his attempts to pull Virginia out via administrative action by the Air Pollution Control Board.

It is clearly time for bipartisan action on climate change. This growing crisis of more extreme weather, from scorching heat waves to increasingly destructive storms, affects Republicans and Democrats alike. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is a bipartisan program with a track record of cutting planet-warming pollution and making investments in clean energy and flood preparedness. We need it now more than ever. Hands off, Mr. Youngkin.

Andrea McGimsey, Ashburn, Va.

The writer is executive director of the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions.