Floyd County Circuit Court Judge Randall Lowe determined Wednesday Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin acted unlawfully by withdrawing Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a program aimed to reduce climate changing emissions that has funneled hundreds of millions to the state to deal with the impacts of extreme weather events.

A Virginia court ruled that Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) cannot withdraw from a greenhouse gas agreement without the approval of the state legislature. Youngkin announced his plan to withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in 2022 because it passed increased utility costs onto ratepayers.

The 27th Judicial Circuit of VA affirmed that deciding to withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative can only be decided by the General Assembly.