Alliance members are working to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping temperature increases below 1.5 degrees Celsius by reducing emissions, accelerating action, centering equity, and tracking progress. 

Explore New Jersey's policies and actions across the Alliance's 10 key policy areas. Numbers presented below only reflect the number of policies in this database and thus may not reflect all climate policies pursued.

new_jersey

GHG Targets + Governance

Just Transition + Equity

Industry

Pricing Carbon + Valuing Damages

Electricity

Transportation

Resilience

Natural + Working Lands

Climate Finance

Buildings

total

A Strategy to Advance Carbon Sequestration on New Jersey's Natural and Working Lands

The strategy report describes how the state will use forests, farms, wetlands, aquatic habitats, and developed lands to pull more carbon out of the atmosphere and store it in plants and soils to advance its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 2006 levels by 2050. It explains the science of carbon sequestration, sets 2030 and 2050 acreage and project targets for afforestation, wetland and tidal marsh restoration, compost and cover crop use on farmland, and new urban green space and street trees.

A4529, An Act Concerning the Procurement of Transmission-Scale Energy Storage

This law expands transmission-scale storage projects eligible for incentives under Tranche 2 of the Garden State Energy Storage Program and extends the Board of Public Utilities' incentive approval deadline by six months, to December 31, 2026. 

Executive Order 23

Orders DEP to implement environmental justice into their statutory and regulatory responsibilities

The Department of Environmental Protection released its Environmental Justice Action Plan, assessing the department’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities to further institutionalize environmental justice. The plan outlines 62 actions and was informed by reflection and assessment of the department's programs as well as insights and testimonies through a yearlong Environmental Justice Community Engagement Tour and the department's Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

Environmental Justice Plan

Since 2018, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the Office of the Attorney General have been collaborating on an Environmental Justice Enforcement Initiative designed to support communities that have historically suffered some of the worst environmental harms in the state. Lawsuits are filed targeting polluters in overburdened communities to recover pollution damages, stop environmental violations, and accelerate clean-up activities.

Environmental Justice Enforcement Initiative

Orders DEP to implement environmental justice into their statutory and regulatory responsibilities.

Environmental Justice Implementation in DEP Responsibilities

DEP’s Office of Environmental Justice oversees the integration of EJ through its workstreams, facilitate the NJ EJ interagency council, and engage with EJ communities

DEP Office of Environmental Justice

EJAC is appointed by and serves as an advisory body to the Commissioner of the DEP. EJAC provides a valuable forum for discussions about integrating Environmental Justice into DEP's programs, policies, and activities. EJAC members represent broad-based constituents and geography. This statewide, diverse representation provides guidance, builds DEP's capacity and improves its support of the state’s Environmental Justice constituents and stakeholders. Through the established working groups: Environmental Education and Communications (EEC), Air, Land, and Water, each member of EJAC focuses directly and primarily on the issue(s) for which his/her working group was created.

Environmental Justice Advisory Council (EJAC)

environmental_justice

RGGI Strategic Funding Plan 2023-2025

The 2023 Plan identifies initiatives that will be funded by RGGI auction proceeds and outlines how these investments will achieve emissions reductions, clean energy goals, and environmental justice priorities over the three-year period from 2023 through 2025.

The Reducing Emissions through Retrofits, Optimization, Fuel-switching, and Innovative Technologies (RETROFIT NJ) Grant Program is a $75 million pilot program launched by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) to provide financial assistance to multi-pronged, large-scale retrofit projects that enable holistic energy improvements at buildings, campuses, and multi-building facilities. The grant awards will range from $2.5 to $12.5 million to reimburse applicants for eligible hard and soft construction costs, including design, equipment, construction, and commissioning from projects that significantly reduce carbon emissions, serve as replicable models, accelerate New Jersey’s clean energy transition, and stimulate economic growth in the clean energy industry. This pilot is funded by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) proceeds allocated to the NJEDA.

Reducing Emissions through Retrofits, Optimization, Fuel-switching, and Innovative Technologies (RETROFIT NJ) Grant Program

The NJ Cool program is a $15 million pilot program launched by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) to provide financial assistance to commercial, industrial, and institutional building owners and tenants undertaking retrofit construction projects that reduce operating greenhouse gas emissions from existing buildings in Newark, Edison, and Atlantic City.

The NJEDA will provide grant awards ranging from $50,000 to $1 million to reimburse applicants for eligible hard construction costs from projects that upgrade building heating and cooling systems to less polluting alternatives, as well as implement other energy efficiency measures or on-site renewables. This pilot is funded by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) proceeds allocated to NJEDA and will accelerate the adoption of more environmentally friendly building systems, technologies, and construction practices within New Jersey.

NJ Cool Program

buildings

Senate Bill 3870, An Act Concerning Nuclear Facility Permitting and Amending P.L.1973

Governor Sherrill signed Senate Bill 3870, modifying the permitting process for nuclear waste storage. The bill allows the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to determine whether a nuclear plant’s method of storing nuclear waste is safe and adheres to federal standards. Before this legislation, the Coastal Area Facility Review Act required the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve new permits for the construction and operation of new nuclear energy facilities.