Global temperatures are now likely to reach 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by the early 2030s. That’s the famous “tipping point” after which climate changes become “self-perpetuating,” according to the journal Science.
In New Jersey in February, Gov. Phil Murphy issued an executive order calling for a faster transformation to 100% clean energy. This means 100% of the electricity in the state would come from renewable sources. He wants to get there by 2035—15 years earlier than the original plan.
State legislators and environmental advocates, aware of the lasting problems of climate change and the changeable nature of political will, issued a plea in June that the state legislature “codify” Murphy’s executive order, which means turn it into law.
This would make it more durable against a change of administrations.
In February, Murphy also established a target for expanding zero-carbon-emission space heating to 400,000 homes and 20,000 commercial properties by 2030. For this effort, the Inflation Reduction Act and its rebates and tax credits for electrification will be extremely helpful.
Murphy also called upon the Board of Public Utilities to formulate a plan for reducing emissions from the state’s natural gas sector. We hope this leads to measurable progress in reduction of gas consumption.
In June, legislators and environmental advocates also called upon the state legislature to take common-sense actions, such as remove trash incineration from the list of allowable sources of renewable energy and work harder to increase genuinely clean energy production in New Jersey.
“We know that New Jerseyans support the clean energy goal, and we need state leaders to do the same. However, while we support steps being taken to pass supporting legislation that codifies these goals, we simply cannot overlook or compromise on the health of our most vulnerable communities by supporting any clean energy standard that includes trash incineration,” said Ed Potosnak, executive director, New Jersey League of Conservation Voters.