Global Warming Solutions Reports

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Executive Summary

New Jersey has begun to make significant strides toward reducing its emissions of global warming pollution, joining other states in the Northeast and across the country in pioneering efforts to reduce global warming pollution from cars and power plants, to boost the state’s energy efficiency, and to increase our use of clean, renewable energy.

But the challenges posed by global warming are large, and the need for additional action to reduce emissions is immediate. Thankfully, many technologies and policy tools exist that could enable New Jersey to cut its emissions of global warming pollutants within the next two decades, while moving the state toward a clean, secure energy future.

This report details 11 policy strategies, in addition to four steps already taken, that would cut New Jersey’s emissions of carbon dioxide—the leading greenhouse gas—by more than 7 percent below today’s levels within the next two decades. Even with these strategies, however, New Jersey will still need to take additional steps to reduce its contribution to global warming in line with the reductions scientists believe will be necessary to prevent catastrophic climate change.

Global warming is real, is happening now, and poses a serious threat to New Jersey’s future.

• Global average temperatures increased by 1˚F in the 20th century and are now increasing at a rate of about 0.36˚F per decade. Sea level is rising, ice and snow cover are decreasing, and hurricane intensity has increased.
• The consensus view of the scientific community is that much of the global warming that has occurred is due to human activities—particularly the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil fuel consumption releases carbon dioxide, which traps radiation emitted from the earth’s surface. Since 1750, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 35 percent—leaving the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere higher than it has been in the last 650,000 years.
• Should the world continue on its present course, global warming emissions could triple in the next half century, with global temperatures increasing by 2.5 to 10˚F over 1990levels by 2100. Sea level could rise by between 3 inches and nearly 3 feet globally (and possibly much more), threatening low-lying coastal areas.

And the ecological balance upon which life depends would be irrevocably altered.

• New Jersey, with its 127 miles of coastline and millions of coastal residents, is susceptible to negative impacts from global warming since much of the land area of the state is low-lying. Sea level rise of 2 to 4 feet would likely cause the inundation of as much as 1 to 3 percent of the state within the next century—including parts of Atlantic City, Cape May, the Delaware Bay Shore, Long Beach Island and the Meadowlands—while leaving large portions of the state susceptible to coastal flooding from major storms.

Immediate action is needed to prevent the worst impacts of global warming.

Scientists tell us that, if we act quickly and aggressively to reduce global warming emissions, there is a much greater chance of staving off the worst impacts of global warming. To have a reasonable chance of keeping global temperatures from rising by more than 2˚C (3.6˚F), the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide must be held below 450 parts per million (ppm). To achieve that target, the world will need to halt the growth of global warming pollution in this decade, begin reducing emissions soon, and slash emissions by more than half by 2050. Because the U.S. is the world’s largest global warming polluter, the degree of emission reductions required here will be greater than in less-developed countries.

By adopting an aggressive target for reducing global warming pollution and setting in motion the changes that will meet that target, New Jersey can set an example for the rest of the nation, while reducing its own significant contribution to global warming.

Emissions of global warming pollution are on the rise in New Jersey.

• Between 1990 and 2002, New Jersey’s emissions of carbon dioxide from energy use increased by 8 percent. Transportation produces the largest share of carbon dioxide pollution in the state (52 percent), followed by electricity generation (16 percent), and the direct use of fossil fuels in homes (13 percent), industry (11 percent) and businesses (8 percent). New Jersey also produces emissions through the consumption of electricity generated in other states.
• New Jersey is on a path that will lead to significant increases in global warming emissions over the next several decades. According to a projection based on data from the U.S.Energy Information Administration (EIA), New Jersey’s emissions of carbon dioxide from energy use could increase by 26 percent over 2000 levels by 2025, with increases in emissions from the transportation sector and electricity generation responsible for the bulk of emissions growth.

New Jersey has already committed to actions that will curb the growth of carbon dioxide emissions over the next two decades.

Over the past several years, New Jersey has taken important steps to limit global warming emissions from vehicles and power plants, to improve the energy efficiency of the state’s economy, and to increase the use of renewable energy for electric power generation.

These actions—if fully implemented— would hold the growth of carbon dioxide emissions to just 10 percent between 2002 and 2025, compared to the 26 percent growth that would be expected with no policy action.

New Jersey could reduce its contribution to global warming by adopting 11 key policy strategies.

There are numerous tools available to New Jersey to reduce global warming pollution.
Among the options are the following policies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from energy use:

1. Require the sale of energy-saving replacement tires that improve vehicle efficiency without negatively affecting safety.
2. Require automobile insurers to offer pay-as-you-drive automobile insurance, in which insurance rates are calculated by the mile, rewarding those who drive less while potentially reducing accidents.
3. Reduce the number of automobile commutes by requiring large employers to develop programs to discourage single-passenger commuting and provide employees with more transportation choices.
4. Adopt policies that would reduce growth in vehicle-miles traveled by cars and light trucks on New Jersey’s highways, such as measures to reduce sprawling development and encourage the use of transit and other transportation alternatives.
5. Improve New Jersey’s freight rail infrastructure, allowing more goods to move by rail and fewer by truck.
6. Push federal officials to increase fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks to at least 40 miles per gallon within the next decade.
7. Significantly strengthen New Jersey’s residential and commercial building energy codes.
8. Adopt significantly stronger energy efficiency standards for appliances and equipment.
9. Establish an aggressive energy efficiency goal and increase funding for New Jersey’s existing energy efficiency programs.
10. Expand use of combined heat and power, in which commercial and industrial facilities use the same energy to generate both electricity and useful heat.
11. Adopt measures to reduce government energy use and promote the use of clean energy in government buildings.

Adoption of these strategies would reduce global warming pollution while improving New Jersey’s energy efficiency.  By 2020, New Jersey’s emissions of carbon dioxide would be approximately 6 percent below 2005 levels. By 2025, carbon dioxide emissions would be about 7.4 percent below 2005 levels.

New Jersey should commit to reducing its emissions of global warming pollutants to levels consistent with the targets scientists believe we need to meet to avoid catastrophic climate change, and adopt public policies sufficient to achieve those reductions. Specifically, the state should:

• Commit to achieving reductions in global warming emissions of 20 percent by 2020 and of at least 70 percent by 2050. Adoption of a strong cap on global warming emissions at the state, regional or federal level would ensure that New Jersey achieves that goal.
• Ensure the full implementation of emission-reduction policies already adopted.
• Adopt the 11 additional strategies recommended in this report.