TRENTON - On the final day of votes before their
summer break, the New Jersey Legislature overwhelmingly passed the Global
Warming Response Act, A3301/S2114, (72-8 in the Assembly, 36-1 in the Senate). This ground-breaking legislation requires a mandatory reduction of the state’s
global warming pollution to below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent below
current levels by 2050. These are the limits scientists say are necessary to
avoid the worst impacts of global warming.
“In the absence of a federal policy to address climate
change on a national level, states must take the lead to reduce global warming
causing emissions before it is too late, “said Assemblywoman Linda Stender,
D-Union. “Considering New Jersey’s high energy demand,
implementation of the Global Warming Response Act will make a significant
difference on a global scale and I am confident our success will serve as a
valuable example for others states and this nation to
follow.”
The passage of the Global Warming Response Act will set
New Jersey apart by becoming the first state in the nation
to require a mandatory 2050 limit on global warming pollution. The act follows
Governor Corzine’s Executive Order, signed in February, establishing parallel
goals. The Governor has stated he will sign the bill.
“Global warming is the most urgent
environmental issue in our lifetime,” said Senator Buono,
D-Middlesex. “This legislation
sets up a comprehensive solution to global warming. It will reduce our
dependence on foreign oil and increase energy efficiency, resulting in
significant cost savings for both families and
businesses.”
The bill’s implementation is in the hands
of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). The
department, in conjunction with other state agencies, must develop a pollution
monitoring and reporting program by January 2009, a plan to achieve the 2020
limit by no later than June 2008, and a plan to achieve the 2050 limit no later
than June 2010. Solutions to cut pollution levels are expected to focus on
reducing the state’s energy consumption and shifting to clean, renewable sources
of energy in the transportation and electricity sectors – the two largest
sources of global warming pollution in the state.
“By cutting pollution levels here at home,
the New Jersey Legislature is setting the stage for urgently needed action in
other states and the nation,” said Suzanne Leta Liou, Global Warming and Clean
Energy Advocate at Environment New Jersey. “New Jersey
will also receive the tremendous economic growth benefits of spurred investment
in our growing renewable energy industry and protection from rising energy
prices.”
Environment New Jersey worked in
partnership with the bill’s prime sponsors, and the broader environmental
community, including the Sierra Club of New Jersey, the New Jersey Environmental
Federation, the New Jersey Audubon Society and the New Jersey Climate March, to
build statewide support for the Global Warming Response Act. The organizations’
lobbying efforts signed on a bi-partisan majority of co-sponsors to the bill in
both houses and resulted in the bill’s passage through five legislative
committees in just six months. Assemblyman John McKeon and Senator Bob Smith,
the chairmen of the environment committees, were particularly helpful
shepherding the bill forward. The organizations also garnered endorsement of
the legislation from 150 organizations, businesses and local elected officials,
including the Mid-Atlantic Solar Energy Industry Association and Public Service
Enterprise Group, the state’s largest electricity provider.
“I have
received overwhelming support for the passage of this bill from constituents,
businesses and community groups throughout my district,” said Assemblywoman
Stender. “The tremendous support I have received from my colleagues in the
legislature echo the same sentiments they are receiving everyday-that
New Jersey can no longer afford to wait and we must take
action now.”
New Jersey is particularly
vulnerable to the impacts of global warming. Without decisive action to cut
pollution levels, global warming is expected to affect every corner of the state
in the next century. New Jersey could be irrevocably
altered by rising seas, severe flooding, health-threatening temperatures and air
pollution, pest infestation, species decline and challenges to critical public
infrastructure.
“The United States has five
percent of the world’s population, yet produces over a quarter of all greenhouse
gases,” said Senator Buono. “We have an obligation to future generations to cut
those emissions now and prevent the catastrophic consequences that may result
from global warming.”
New
Jersey’s action is part of a national trend of states
taking the lead in the effort to tackle global warming. California
and Hawaii have enacted legislation (AB32 and HB226,
respectively) to cap global warming pollution to 1990 levels by 2020, although
Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle has not yet committed to sign the bill into law. Eight additional states – WA, MD, OR, NM, WI, CT, RI and MA – are also seriously
considering similar legislation.
At the federal level, the Global Warming
Pollution Reduction Act (S309) and the Safe Climate Act (HR1590) are the only
bills that requires mandatory caps on global warming pollution to 15-20 percent
below current levels by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. New Jersey Senators
Menendez and Lautenberg and Representatives Andrews, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne,
Rothman, LoBiondo and Sires are co-sponsors.
“If we’re going to solve global warming, we
have to start here and now,” said Leta Liou.
