New Jersey environmental groups filed a petition Wednesday to demand the state accelerate its timeline for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and immediately stop issuing permits for fossil fuel projects, including pipelines and power plants that use natural gas.

The petition, filed with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) by Empower NJ, a coalition of about 60 environmental, community, faith and grassroots groups, demands that the agency cut greenhouse gas emissions 50% below 2005 levels by 2030. Gov. Phil Murphy’s goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050, as set out in an updated climate change masterplan released in 2020 by his administration. (See: NJ Unveils Plan for 100% Clean Energy by 2050.)

In a press conference and the 23-page petition, the groups said Murphy talks aggressively on climate change but doesn’t match his words with action. The governor is moving too slowly to cut greenhouse gases, and the DEP continues to approve projects that use or transport natural gas, which the U.S. Energy Information Administration considers a “relatively clean burning” fossil fuel that nevertheless emits methane, a “strong greenhouse gas.”

At the same time, drought, flooding and other environmental disasters around the world show the need for dramatic action is growing, the groups said.

Speaking at the press conference, Jeff Tittel, retired director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said, “Gov. Murphy, who says many of the right things and proposes some nice things, has not lived up to those words.”

“We’re here to do the job the DEP should do, which is to face the climate emergency and act bold and act quicker — and do it now,” Tittel said.

Members of Empower NJ include Clean Water Action, Blue Wave NJ, Environment New Jersey, League of Women Voters of New Jersey and NJ Citizen Action.

In response to media queries about the petition, Murphy’s office released a statement that called him a “leader in climate action” who has “taken bold and aggressive steps to reduce the impacts of climate change in New Jersey. Governor Murphy and his Administration remain committed to a just transition and a clean energy future,” the statement said.

The petition presents a challenge to Murphy, a Democrat, as it comes from some of the state’s most prominent environmental groups and other organizations that he could be looking to for support as he seeks re-election to a second term in November. A vigorous response to climate change has been a major plank of his administration’s record since he took office in 2018, especially his administration’s championing of wind energy and the approval of three projects off the state’s coast that will together generate more than 3.7 GW of wind power. (See: NJ Awards Two Offshore Wind Projects.)

Leader or Laggard?

Under New Jersey law, the DEP has 60 days to respond to the petition, either by accepting it and taking action, such as beginning rulemaking to address the issue, or denying it, according to the groups.

The DEP, in a statement emailed to NetZero Insider, said the agency “does not comment on the specifics of petitions for rulemaking.”

The statement added, however, that “under Governor Murphy’s leadership, New Jersey has taken an aggressive, whole-of-government approach to reducing the impacts of climate change.”

The statements from the DEP and Murphy highlighted similar initiatives the governor has undertaken to demonstrate his commitment to acting against climate change. They included: his decision to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) after his predecessor Chris Christie pulled the state out; his pursuit of carbon-free electricity; the state’s investment in promoting electric vehicles; and its “ambitious climate change regulatory reforms,” called New Jersey Protecting Against Climate Threats (NJPACT).

Rule changes under that program are “in various stages of development,” the DEP said. They include strengthening air pollution rules to help reduce future greenhouse gas emissions and improving the state’s GHG reporting and inventory system.”

Still, the petition claims that New Jersey is “not keeping pace,” with other members of the United States Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 25 states working toward achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, according to the group’s website. New Jersey is a member of the group.

“New Jersey is an outlier in the Climate Alliance,” the petition says. “The vast majority of member States already have set 2030 targets, and many have set 2025 targets.” The petition notes that President Biden has announced a target of 50 to 52% reduction from 2005 levels of GHG by 2030. It also cited the June announcement by PSEG, the state’s main utility, that it is accelerating its greenhouse gas reduction efforts to reach net-zero emissions by 2030, 20 years earlier than its previous target. (See: PSEG Speeds up Plan to Cut Emissions.)

GHG Impact of Natural Gas

The petition says that serious arguments can no longer be made that natural gas should be seen as a “bridge fuel,” a cleaner alternative to coal-fired energy production that can be used while clean energy sources are developed. Natural gas is “as bad as coal” in some respects, due to the presence of methane in natural gas, the petition says.

“Natural gas is not a bridge to the future. It’s a highway off a cliff. And the state must act faster,” said David Pringle, a member of the steering committee of Empower NJ. “So, this effort will help move the administration farther, give them the cover they need to do the right thing, educate and mobilize the public to save money, create jobs and get us the health and safety that we deserve.”

The petition says that despite the state’s commitment to cutting emissions, it has “continued to allow the construction of new fossil fuel facilities” over the past three years. These include the expansion of the Sewaren 7 natural gas electricity generating plant, owned by PSE&G in Woodbridge, N.J., and several expansions of the Transco pipeline, which delivers natural gas to consumers in the state. Those Transco expansions include the Garden State Expansion Project.

Specifically, the petition calls for the DEP to create rules “denying permits for any new fossil fuel project” unless it certifies that:

• The 2030 target can be met if the facility is constructed and operates;
• There is no renewable energy alternative to provide the same amount of energy;
• The state’s energy requirements can’t be met by any other means.

“New Jersey has done a lot of good stuff on green energy, offshore wind especially,” Pringle said. “But those efforts won’t get the [GHG] reductions we need. We have to be saying no to dirty energy too.”