Youngkin shares update on Helene damage in Virginia, urges to not be “distracted” by climate change
Over 500 homes and 83 businesses damaged with assessments still happening, the governor said.

BY: CHARLIE PAULLIN - OCTOBER 4, 2024 4:16 PM

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Gov. Glenn Youngkin, in blue jeans, assesses storm damage caused by Hurricane Helene in Grayson County on Sept. 29, 2024. (Courtesy of Christian Martinez, Office of Governor Glenn Youngkin)

Restoration efforts in Southwest Virginia continue after Hurricane Helene’s deadly impact, as Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin asserted that blaming the intense storm and the future unpredictability of weather on climate change was a distraction.

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While taking questions from reporters, Youngkin declined to share his thoughts about climate change’s influence when a Virginia Mercury reporter asked about it.

“Nobody get distracted by that question,” said Youngkin, who in 2022 acknowledged climate change was a “threat” in an interview about his energy plan, which called for a re-evaluation of the state’s Virginia Clean Economy Act. The landmark 2020 VCEA seeks to decarbonize the grid by mid-century to halt human-caused climate change.

“We are right now in a moment of providing people a pathway back to hope,” Youngkin continued, before talking about the gratitude he received for his visits, including an afternoon visit by U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, the Republican vice presidential nominee, on Thursday. … “Yesterday, when Senator Vance was there and everyone was saying ‘thank you for coming,’ this is a region of Virginia and America that has historically been forgotten,” Youngkin said. “I just have no time for folks who are trying to politicize this moment.”

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CHARLIE PAULLIN
Charles Paullin covers energy and environment for the Mercury. He previously worked for Northern Virginia Daily in the Northern Shenandoah Valley and for the New Britain Herald in central Connecticut. An Alexandria native, Charles graduated from the University of Hartford initially wanting to cover sports. He's received several Virginia Press Association awards for his coverage of crime, local government and state politics.

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