State DEP Releases Draft Plan to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions

TRENTON — Department of Environmental Protection Acting Commissioner Mark Mauriello on Monday, Dec. 15 released a proposed plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New Jersey and invited the public to comment on the recommendations outlined in a draft report published on the state’s Global Warming Web site.
“While this plan is still in draft form, it lays out an ambitious vision for New Jersey and what we must do to reduce greenhouse gases for the next 40 years,” Gov. Jon Corzine stated in a release. “This draft report outlines a New Jersey where employees commute without the frustration of traffic and the air pollution it causes, where energy is clean, and where waste is a thing of the past. Such ambitions are the future of our environment and our economy.”
The state will host six meetings in January to solicit input on the plan.
The draft report is a key requirement of the Global Warming Response Act, signed by Corzine on July 6, 2007, that calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, followed by a further reduction of emissions to 80 percent below 2006 levels by 2050.
The plan reinforces three of the state’s core environmental programs that are aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from New Jersey’s largest contributors–the transportation and energy sectors.
The Energy Master Plan establishes the framework for reducing New Jersey’s energy demands through incentives that encourage investment in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
The state’s Low Emission Vehicle, which becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2009, will achieve twice the reduction in greenhouse gases as the Federal clean car standards. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a 10-state northeastern and mid-Atlantic initiative, is reducing carbon output from power plants in the region through a cap-and-trade market-based approach. New Jersey is participating in RGGI’s carbon auction scheduled for Dec. 17.
The plan also provides supporting recommendations that include legislative and regulatory actions, as well as additional market-based initiatives that encourage investment in innovative environmentally-friendly technologies.
The draft report and a list of dates and times for the public meetings are listed on the state’s global warming web site at: www.state.nj.us/globalwarming.com.