Governor Northam Signals Commitment to Address Climate Change

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — Today the Southern Environmental Law Center released the following statement regarding Governor Ralph Northam’s announcement that his administration is beginning the process to regulate methane emissions from natural gas infrastructure and landfills and to join a regional collaborative to advance cleaner transportation alternatives:

“We applaud the administration for taking the bold step to address methane emissions from natural gas infrastructure. From cradle to grave, fracked natural gas contributes substantially to climate change. Methane emissions from the infrastructure that transports natural gas are a large cause of that.

We also applaud the decision to join 11 other states and the District of Columbia in the Transportation and Climate Initiative, an effort to reduce carbon emissions from vehicles and develop the clean energy economy by advancing electric vehicles and other alternatives.  Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in the Commonwealth.

These steps expand Virginia’s commitments to addressing climate change and should send a strong signal that the Commonwealth’s energy future does not lie in carbon intensive fossil fuels like natural gas and oil.

We look forward to working with the administration to ensure that the methane regulation is as strong and broadly applicable to natural gas infrastructure, both new and existing, as possible.  We also look forward to working with the administration to pursue further steps to reduce tailpipe pollution.”

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For more than 30 years, the Southern Environmental Law Center has used the power of the law to champion the environment of the Southeast. With more than 80 attorneys and nine offices across the region, SELC is widely recognized as the Southeast’s foremost environmental organization and regional leader. SELC works on a full range of environmental issues to protect our natural resources and the health and well-being of all the people in our region. www.SouthernEnvironment.org