Southeast

Virginia

Virginia is home to a large interstate highway system, a dozen railroads, several busy commercial airports, and one of the nation’s largest seaports, making the transportation sector the state’s top energy consumer. Additionally, more than a third of the country’s coal exports are shipped through Virginia’s ports. The state has a significant coal-mining industry, but coal-fired electricity generation has been largely replaced by natural gas, and to a smaller extent, renewables.

GHG Reduction Targets

All targets relative to 2005 levels

2045

Net-zero

Governor

Glenn Youngkin (Republican)

House Party

Democratic Majority

Senate Party

Democratic Majority

Legislative session

1/10/24 - 3/9/24

Key Offices & Links

19

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 6 policy areas

See all

43

Policy Opportunities

across 7 policy areas

See all

Southeast

14 states

This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Compare with other states

Progress by Policy Area

Enacted
In-progress
Partially Enacted
Not Enacted

Glossary of Terms

Status	Policy	Policy Area	Policy Category	YR Enacted
Not Enacted	Buy Clean Requirements Empty column Buy clean requirements mandate or incentivize the use of low-carbon construction materials, such as concrete and steel, in public projects to address embodied carbon.	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	Industrial Decarbonization
Enacted	Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) Regulations Empty column The state prohibits certain HFCs in specific stationary refrigeration and air-conditioning end-uses. Establishing Policies Chapter 1289 (2020) HFCs \| Virginia DEQ	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	F-gas Regulations	2020
Not Enacted	Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) Regulations Empty column Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) regulations include phasedown commitments, reporting requirements, bans, or other measures that reduce SF6 usage and emissions.	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	F-gas Regulations
Not Enacted	Fracking Bans Empty column Fracking bans prohibit the practice of hydraulic fracking for the production of oil and/or natural gas by a certain year. Legislation often requires an environmental agency or department to promulgate regulations.	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	Oil and Gas Regulations
Not Enacted	Oil and Gas Methane Regulations Empty column Oil and gas methane regulations include phasedown commitments, reporting requirements, leak detection and repair, or other measures that reduce methane emissions from oil and gas production.	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	Oil and Gas Regulations
Not Enacted	Food Waste Bans and Targets Empty column Food waste bans and targets include policies that prohibit certain entities that generate specified amounts of food waste (typically commercial businesses and larger institutions) from sending this waste to landfills. Targets aim to reduce total food waste by a certain percentage each target year.	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	Waste Management
Not Enacted	Landfill Methane Regulations Empty column Landfill methane regulations include rulemakings, emissions monitoring, emissions control, or other measures that reduce methane emissions from decaying organic waste in landfills.	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	Waste Management

Virginia

Key Offices & Links

19

43

Southeast

Progress by Policy Area

Climate Governance and Equity

Cross-Sector

Electricity

Buildings and Efficiency

Transportation

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management

Natural and Working Lands

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Virginia