New Jersey Clean Energy Coalition Urges Murphy Administration to Equitably Invest Federal Infrastructure and Jobs Funding

Federal Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act will achieve New Jersey’s economic, equity, climate and labor goals if invested strategically with stakeholder input

TRENTON, NJ – A coalition representing New Jersey’s environmental, business, social justice, conservation, labor, and climate advocacy communities is calling on the Murphy Administration to equitably and strategically invest federal Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) funds to support residents in greatest need.

With many federal investments already making their way to New Jersey, local stakeholders should be engaged to ensure all funding opportunities are maximized to transform New Jersey into a stronger, fairer, and more resilient place. Richard Sun has been named New Jersey’s IIJA Coordinator to ensure transparency through the public engagement process, and the coalition looks forward to the opportunity to collaborate with the state this summer to ensure funds advance New Jersey’s renewable energy goals.

“Availability of this federal funding represents a historic opportunity for the state to ensure counties and towns – particularly those most impacted by the devastating impacts of global climate change – are supported and prepared to advance New Jersey’s climate, jobs, and justice objectives,” said Debra Coyle, executive director of the NJ Work Environment Council (WEC) and co-coordinator of Jersey Renews.

The coalition also recommends additional state resources, staff and technical assistance to support counties and municipalities in directly applying for competitive funding and managing and overseeing funding implementation.

“We cannot afford to leave this money on the table or invested in ways that will not reduce pollution and directly benefit communities in greatest need,” said Maria Santiago Valentin, founding president of Atlantic Climate Justice Alliance. “We stand ready to support the Murphy Administration in ensuring priority communities, especially neighborhoods overburdened by pollution and underserved by clean energy, are not left behind.”

Among actions that the coalition proposes are prioritizing at least 40% of investments in communities overburdened by pollution and underserved by clean energy, preventing projects that would exacerbate pollution and/or perpetuate inequities in overburdened communities, equitably electrifying the state’s transportation system, and prioritizing public charging infrastructure, including in new office, retail and multi-unit residential developments, transitioning school, public transit, and government vehicle fleets to zero-emission vehicles, and investing funds to electrify depots.

“We stand ready to help New Jersey deploy federal investments locally to equitably reduce emissions and improve residents’ quality of life, particularly low- and middle-income families living in polluted urban centers,” said Dan Quinlan, senior advisor to Healthcare without Harm. “A privileged few should not be the only fraction of New Jersey’s population to reap the benefits of clean energy as, statewide, the cumulative burdens of pollution in environmental justice communities disproportionately harm Black and Indigenous People of Color. We must act now to break this cycle that overburdened communities have experienced for far too long.”

“New Jersey must access and deploy funding to accelerate an equitable transition to a sustainable economy rooted in clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency, which will, in turn, help ensure a diversified energy supply, more high-quality jobs, and cleaner air,” said Karen Brown Stovell, executive director of Forward Ever Sustainable Business Alliance. “Scaling up and investing in clean energy infrastructure opens opportunities for workers to reskill or learn new in-demand skills necessary to compete in our economy. We can simultaneously take on the climate crisis and create good-paying, family sustaining jobs.”