The state Department of Environmental Protection has released a new 68-page strategy to advance goals for carbon sequestration across the state.

According to the U.S. Geological Survery, “Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide” in order to reduce global climate change.” 

The DEP strategy, released Sept. 18, begins with the premise that “climate change is an existential crisis informed by a clear scientific consensus.”

This strategy arrives just as numerous groups are questioning the scientific consensus the DEP says underlies its proposed Resilient Environment and Landscapes regulations, which assume a 5-foot increase in the sea level by 2100.

The DEP’s new Natural and Working Lands Strategy is, as the agency describes it, a blueprint for enhancing carbon sequestration across New Jersey’s diverse landscapes. It seeks to boost the capture of carbon dioxide on both public and private lands.

An abstract presents the strategy as an essential complement to other efforts that seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said, “All current indications reflect that multiplying our carbon sequestration capacity is central for New Jersey to achieve its legislatively prescribed target of reducing GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions by 80% by 2050.”

The new strategy is available on the DEP website. In the coming weeks, the Herald will look at the many recommendations in the report and describe their implications for Cape May County.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.