Contact Jeff Tittel, 609-558-9100

Enviro Committee on Climate Science: We Need Action, Not More Meetings

Today, the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee is meeting jointly to hear testimony on the latest developments in climate science and its potential impacts in New Jersey. One of the lessons of Hurricane Sandy is weakening environmental standards and waiving protections will end up causing more damage, hurting the economy and environment. The four policy experts that have been invited to speak at the hearing are: Professor Anthony Broccoli, Co-Director, Rutgers Climate Institute Environmental Sciences; Professor Edward Lloyd, Evan M. Frankel Clinical Professor of Environmental Law; The Fund for NJ Trustee; Jeanne Herb, Associate Director of the Rutgers Environmental Analysis and Communications Group and facilitator of NJ Climate Adaptation Alliance; and David Kutner, Planning Manager for New Jersey Future. The joint committee is meeting at 10:00 AM at the Lavallette Municipal Building, 1306 Grand Central Avenue, Lavallette, New Jersey.

“It’s good to have these scientists come out and explain to the Legislature the damaging effects of climate change. What’s missing, however, is a plan of action by the Legislature. We’ve been hearing these reports on the effects of climate change for over ten years and the Legislature still hasn’t done anything to stop it. Every year we talk about what we must do but it is just talk. What we really need is a plan of action. These speakers are presenting important science but the Christie Administration won’t listen to them,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We’re calling on our government to actually protect us from the threats of climate change and sea level rise; not just talk about it. We need to reopen the Office of Climate Change and DEP’s Coastal Program for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation. We need to close the CAFRA loophole and have better coastal planning in place. We need to prepare our state for upcoming sea level rise and storm events.”

A new study by analysts at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has revealed that the threats of sea level rise are worse than we originally thought. The study warms that nearly 170 communities in less than 20 years and as many as 670 by the end of the century will face “chronic inundation” due to sea level rise. This includes many coastal communities as well as major metropolitan areas such as Newark and Elizabeth. The study suggests New Jersey implement more responsible development along our coasts and flood-prone areas.

“We don’t need scientists to tell us that New Jersey has been decimated by climate change, it’s happening every day. including sea level rise and storm events, and we need to address that. Places like the Meadowlands, Hoboken, back bays and the Barrier Islands are already going under water. Instead of protecting us from climate change, Christie has closed the Office of Climate Change, stolen a billion dollars out of the Clean Energy Fund, crashed the solar market and refused to release the financing rules for offshore wind off our coast,” said Jeff Tittel.

There are a number of ways the Legislature can act to protect us from climate change and sea level rise, including:

Supporting Hurricane Sandy Recovery Bills: Closing CAFRA loopholes, establishing a Coastal Commission, mitigation and adaptation planning, and other bills to improve coastal planning to better prepare NJ for climate change impacts:

• A3921 will redefine developments that need permits under CAFRA, closing the exemption for developments with 24 units or less.
• A3920 would establish a Coastal Commission to oversee land use along the shore. On adaptation and mitigation trying to get it required in legislation as part of planning and rebuilding. We will continue to work on getting these bills passed and signed into law in 2016.
• A1863 redefines developments that need permits under the Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA). CAFRA has loopholes that allow some inappropriate coastal development to move forward and this bill aims to eliminate them. The legislation would require DEP to review more development proposals under the coastal regulations. This bill would require all developments within 150 feet of the mean high water line to have a CAFRA permit. It would also increase the types and amount of development that need permits, letting fewer projects get off the hook without one. As we rebuild from Hurricane Sandy, this legislation will help us do so better and smarter.

Supporting clean energy to reduce climate change: by switching to a green economy, we can not only provide safe clean jobs and energy, but also limit our carbon footprint.

• Supporting legislation that requires 80% percent renewable energy by 2050 (already passed Senate), eventually helping us achieve 100 percent renewable energy.
• Supporting efforts to increase renewable energy in New Jersey including requiring the BPU to create financing mechanism for offshore wind and promoting solar installations

Rising sea level rise and flooding is also accompanied by increased storm events. According to a joint-study between the University of Princeton, University of Rutgers, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, surge floods may become 17 times more likely in the next one hundred years. Using historical data and computer model-projects the study found that between 1800 and 2000 the frequency of Sandy-like floods has increased threefold. Using past data and predictions of sea level rise, they were able to estimate the severity of future storms and floods.

“New Jersey has failed to implement policies to protect our coasts and communities from climate change. We’re already seeing the effects of climate change with increased instances of extreme storm events and droughts. We’re now 17 times more likely to be hit with a major storm surge over the next century. We have so many low-lying and vulnerable areas, not just along the coast but in places like Jersey City and Perth Amboy, that would be especially at risk. Some roads go underwater every time there’s a full moon and we’re losing coastal wetlands at an alarming rate,” said Jeff Tittel.

When it comes to dealing with climate change and flooding, the Christie Administration has weakened protections and put people at risk. The DEP’s recent changes to the CAFRA and Coastal Zone Management rules will add more loopholes and waivers and weakening coastal protections.  The rules do not strengthen protections, encourage more regional planning, address climate change or sea level rise, and they do not include programs for adaptation or mitigation of sea level rise, resiliency, or natural systems restoration. This will add more development in hazard areas and put people and property in harm’s way.

“Instead of enacting important protections, the Christie Administration has rolled them back. Not only has Christie eliminated protections against climate change, but he is allowing more development in areas at risk for flooding and storm surges. The Administration has created more loopholes in the Coastal CAFRA Rules to allow more development in areas vulnerable to coastal flooding and even more, to allow high density development in the most high-hazard flood areas along the coast. Under the new CAFRA rules, places like Mystic Island and Manahawkin are targeted as high-density development areas even though they go under water. The weakening of the Water Quality Management Planning rules allow sewer extensions and high-density development in many coastal and inland flood-prone areas. The Flood Hazard rules have been weakened to put more people in harm’s way when it comes to flooding while removing key protections for important waterways,” said Jeff Tittel.

The Administration has also rolled back rules to protect wetlands and environmentally sensitive areas including the Coastal Area Facilities Act, which has opened more coastal areas to development. They have also proposed to weaken the Flood Hazard rules and the Water Quality Management Planning rules which will put more people and property at risk and lead to more water pollution impacts. These policies will leave us at risk during the next storm. Instead of taking a holistic and regional approach for resiliency, the Christie Administration has opened up more environmentally sensitive areas to development and proposed projects that will leave the area more vulnerable. Without looking at the real climate change impacts like sea level rise, and protecting our wetlands, we are still more vulnerable to the next storm.

“We’ve had the science to support the threat of climate change for a long time now. Instead of having meetings and simply listening to experts, we need our government to take their advice and act. Instead of making us stronger than the next storm, the Christie Administration has made us more vulnerable. As climate disruption worsens with global warming, extreme weather, sea level rise, and droughts, the DEP’s failure to act has threatened our families and communities,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “The people of New Jersey that have been devastated by the recent storms and flooding. Continuing to ignore climate change is outrageous, dangerous, and puts people at risk. What we need are hearings on legislation, not more meeting just discussing climate change.