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This week, Governor Phil Murphy signed into legislation a bill adding New Jersey as a member of the U.S. Climate Alliance. He stated that “New Jersey is committed to protecting our environment and investing in a clean energy economy. By joining the U.S. Climate Alliance, we are joining with likeminded states to push back against a federal government that continues to undermine and abandon initiatives to combat the reality of climate change. I am proud to take this step and make environmental initiatives a top priority in New Jersey.”
By joining the Alliance, governors commit to:
Since taking office on January 16th, Governor Murphy has reestablished New Jersey’s leadership on climate change and clean energy by taking a number of concrete steps to accelerate emissions reductions in the state. Notably, the governor issued an Executive Order to begin the process of reentering the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) – a cooperative, market-based program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, joining seven other Alliance States engaged in the program. He has also directed the Board of Public Utilities to begin the process of advancing 3,500 MW of offshore wind energy generation by 2030 – the most ambitious statewide goal to date.
Governor Murphy is also fighting back against efforts to undermine climate leadership in the United States. Under his leadership, New Jersey is joining a multi-state coalition opposing the federal government’s expansion of offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, and withdrawing New Jersey from a multi-state lawsuit (West Virginia v. EPA) opposing the Obama Administration’s signature climate change rule, the Clean Power Plan.
With New Jersey as its newest member, the Alliance represents over 40 percent of the U.S. population and a nearly $9 trillion economy – in GDP terms, it would be the third largest country in the world. The climate and clean energy policies of these states have created 1.6 million clean energy jobs, equivalent to nearly half of all clean energy jobs in the United States.
Alliance states are showing the nation and the world that ambitious climate action is achievable, and that climate leadership grows economies. The 2017 analysis by the Climate Alliance, shows that under current policies alone, Alliance states are on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 24-29 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. Alliance states continue to lead – on February 27th, Alliance States will be convening in Washington, DC to set their strategic priorities for 2018, and looking towards the September Global Climate Action Summit and the 24th annual climate negotiations to demonstrate how Governors are delivering on their climate commitments, and identify additional opportunities for ambitious climate action.
Launched on June 1, 2017 by the governors of Washington, New York, and California to help fill the void left by the previous administration’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, the Alliance has grown to include 24 governors from across the U.S. representing approximately 60% of the U.S. economy and 55% of the U.S. population. Governors in the Alliance have pledged to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025, at least 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030, and collectively achieve overall net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as practicable, and no later than 2050.
The Alliance’s states and territories continue to demonstrate that climate action goes hand-in-hand with economic growth, job creation, and better public health. While reducing collective greenhouse gas emissions by 19%, Alliance members increased their collective GDP by 30%. The coalition’s states and territories are employing more workers in the clean energy sector, achieving lower levels of dangerous air pollutants, and preparing more effectively for climate impacts and executing more pre-disaster planning than the rest of the country.
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