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A coalition representing environmental groups is taking Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration is being sued for failing to make real progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions despite many years of promise.
EmpowerNJ filed a petition Thursday with an appellate court to force the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules that set a 50% targeted reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 from 2005 levels.
The 120 environmental and community groups have argued that DEP must deny permits for new fossil fuel projects that fail to meet certain benchmarks. This would include Newark’s proposed gas-fired energy plant. Murphy was forced to deny Murphy permission last week after advocates pressured him to. postpone a vote.
Alyana Alfaro spokeswoman for Murphy and said that no one would comment on the pending litigation.
The planet is warming because of human activity, according to a majority of scientists, peer-reviewed research and government agencies. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has been increased by burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and gasoline. This prevents heat escaping into space.
A warming climate has triggered many changes that threaten the globe and New Jersey. For instance, sea level has risen along New Jersey’s coast by about 1.5 feet since 1911 — more than double the global average, according to a 2019 report by Rutgers scientists.
Increased warmth — 2020 and 2021 were the second and third warmest years in New Jersey’s recorded history — has helped fuel more intense storms such as Hurricane Ida, whose record floodwaters in September killed 30 New Jerseyans.
Murphy has made climate change the central focus of his environmental agenda. He has halted plans to build 2 gas-fired power plant in the Meadowlands. However, some supporters claim that he is not doing enough.
The litigation revolves around an Executive orderMurphy signed the November amendment to accelerate greenhouse gas reductions by 2030. It also revolves around an update the legislature made in 2019 to the state’s Global Warming Response Act that established a goal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 2006 levels by 2050.
The group petitioned DEP last year for speedy processing. Last month, the DEP denied the petition. The appeal was filed by the DEP on Thursday.
In its denial, lawyers for the DEP said the administration was working to generate 3,500 megawatts of offshore wind and install 2,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030, increase energy efficiency standards and bolster new solar programs.
“There are only two ways to look at DEP’s outright denial of our petition — DEP has gone rogue or this administration is uninterested in pursuing its own stated policies and state law,” said John Reichman, a lawyer for the environmentalists.
Scott Fallon has been covering the COVID-19 pandemic from its inception in March 2020. To get unlimited access to the latest news about the pandemic’s impact on New Jersey, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
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