Energy / Global Warming

Global warming threatens New Jersey’s coastal ecosystems by decreasing water flow in streams and rivers; threatening coastal wetlands and the forested Pine Barrens; and causing sea level to rise, which could damage New Jersey’s beaches and valuable coastal real estate.

Emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) contribute to global warming. The major sources of CO2 emissions in New Jersey are from transportation and electricity generation. Together, these two sectors contributed 70 percent of the CO2 emissions in 2001 (the latest year for which data is available).

New Jersey should take steps to reduce its share of CO2 emissions, including: developing a strategy to reduce vehicle miles traveled; ensuring that the “Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative” (a regional cap-and-trade program covering global warming emissions from power plants) results in a 10 percent reduction in emissions below current levels by 2010; and adopting a standard by which 20 percent of electricity sold in the state in 2020 will comes from renewable sources.