Climate Change

We are the first generation to be able to end poverty and the last generation that can take steps to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

-- Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations

Climate change is caused primarily by increased Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions in the atmosphere which trap energy and elevate temperatures. In New Jersey the largest source of GHG is transportation, generating about 41 percent of total emissions according to 2012 EPA data. The second largest source is electric generation from fossil fuels, contributing about 19 percent of emissions.

New Jersey was formerly part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the first mandatory market-based program in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. RGGI is a cooperative effort among nine Eastern states to cap and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the power sector. In 2011 the Governor withdrew New Jersey from the RGGI. Consequently, New Jersey no longer receives revenue from the sale of pollution allowances required in participating states, and the state’s power plants are no longer governed by a statewide limit on the amount of carbon pollution production. The foregone proceeds are estimated at $279 million from 2012 to 2017 with the total reaching $489 million by 2020.

New Jersey would benefit from joining the RGGI and implementing the Global Warming Response Act (GWRA). GWRA mandates the reduction of statewide GHG to 1990 levels by 2020 with a further reduction of 80 percent below 2006 emission levels no later than 2050. There is no plan to meet the 2050 targets. New Jersey’s in-state emissions from the electricity sector have been escalating over the past three years driven primarily by emissions from gas-fired electric plants.

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First Year

Continue an offshore wind process that includes an adaptive process in both the release of solicitations and regulatory review, including:

1. Regularly review and update solicitations and regulatory processes to incorporate best practices to address potential wildlife impacts or other environmental concerns and new knowledge gained from previous solicitations, current projects in various stages of development, and other states.
2. Require strong environmental and natural resource protections that focus on avoidance as a precondition of any approved project. Developers should be required to demonstrate that they are avoiding preserved lands and sensitive natural resources to the maximum extent possible.
3. Use the best available data to avoid sensitive habitats to the maximum extent possible in both state and federal waters.
4. Look holistically at all aspects of offshore wind development, including port, inland and near-shore activities when reviewing potential impacts to the environment and marine life.
5. Bring together stakeholders throughout the project development stage for meaningful public engagement and comment periods that allow for a diversity of voices, outside of the offshore wind advisory group.

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First Term

Support the authority of the DEP to fully enforce New Jersey’s strong authority under the Clean Water Act, Freshwater Wetlands regulations, Flood Hazard regulations and Coastal Zone Management regulations, and deny permits for fossil fuel projects that don’t meet New Jersey’s strict environmental standards.

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