Priority

Updating Energy Infrastructure & Environmental Protections

Climate change is a very real threat to our national security, public health, economic prosperity, and diverse biosphere.  We owe it to our children and future generations to control how much climate change will cost us. We all struggled through intense heat this summer, watched flooding and forest fires around the country, and have experienced an increasing number of severe weather events.  Sea levels continue to rise along the Atlantic coast as Virginia is projected to experience almost 5 feet of increase by 2080, submerging an additional 649 square miles of land.  ODU’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy calculates that taking no action to mitigate against rising sea levels will result in a $79.1 billion decline in economic output by the end of the century.  The main cause of climate change is burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal. When burnt, fossil fuels release carbon dioxide into the air, causing the planet to heat up.


I intend to prioritize the development and spread of renewable sources of energy as an alternative to fossil fuels.  Because renewable energy has no marginal cost - no material costs, nor labor costs while generating energy, once scaled up, it is by far the least cost form of energy generation - cheaper electricity that can be passed on to consumers.  In 2021, renewable energy sources accounted for about 12.4% of total U.S. primary energy consumption. Renewable energy sources accounted for about 19.8% of total utility-scale electricity generation. We can only go up.


On a bipartisan approach, I also will support new clean technologies that will create new jobs in emerging markets and communities.

See all of Susanna's priorities for Virginia