“Governor Murphy and the Department of Environmental Protection’s development and release of this much anticipated Climate Change Resilience Strategy marks an important step in planning for a resilient New Jersey. After years of focusing planning efforts on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the administration has produced a complimentary policy roadmap for the second pillar of climate change—adaptation. This is a critical recognition that climate change is here and will continue to impact our communities for decades to come, and that we need to adapt to these changes to protect people, property, and the public dollar.

“The strategy elevates several areas of critical importance including: the importance of supporting local planning and implementation; the necessity to understand risk through the creation of vulnerability assessments; the obligation to transition from high-risk areas; the criticality of coordinating state department efforts, especially around infrastructure investments; the need for incorporating racial and economic equity throughout these processes; and the value of singling out our coastal areas for special attention.

“In the coming days we will be looking more closely at how this strategy can be used to set tangible adaptation goals and how progress toward meeting those goals will be measured; how quickly these strategies and high level actions can be implemented; how well and how swiftly all state departments will start aligning investments and decision-making behind climate change resiliency; how this Strategy will support and improve our drinking, storm, and wastewater systems; and the degree to which racial and economic equity will be centered, and decision-making will be inclusive and transparent.

“New Jersey Future looks forward to working with our nonprofit, for-profit and government partners to use this strategy as a springboard for making New Jersey a leader in climate change adaptation.”