Clean Energy, End Gasoline Vehicle Sales: Murphy Announces New Jersey Green Goals

New Jersey is aiming to transition its entire economy to clean energy, end the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles, and significantly accelerate the transition to electric building heating by 2035 as part of a series of environmental initiatives announced Wednesday that aim to make the state a national leader. in clean energy.

But the ambitious plans, unveiled by Gov. Phil Murphy, quickly drew opposition – not just from business groups who called them costly and fuzzy, but also from some environmentalists who said they weren’t moving the state away from fossil fuels fast enough. .

During a speech at Rutgers University, the Democratic governor outlined six steps he says are needed to make the state “the next New Jersey.”

These include advancing the goal of having the state’s economy run 100% clean energy by 2035 instead of the current 2050 goal. Other measures aim to end the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles within the same time frame; install zero-carbon heating and cooling systems in 400,000 homes and 20,000 businesses; and by 2030, prepare 10% of all low- and middle-income properties for electric heating and cooling.

New Jersey, along with California, New York and the European Union, will end the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.

“We are ready to take the next six big steps in our fight against climate change,” Murphy said, before quickly responding to the criticism he predicted. “Now let me get one thing clear from the start before the right-wing meme creators go: no one is coming for anyone’s gas stove. Nobody goes into anyone’s kitchen. No one should ever be forced to do anything.”

Murphy said the moves are intended to “give consumers more choice and a better chance of joining us in creating a cleaner, more sustainable and more affordable energy future.”

They also include conducting a study on the future of natural gas utilities with utility regulators and other parties that may be affected; spend $70 million to reduce consumer spending on medium and heavy-duty electric vehicles; and proposing new flood protection rules along rivers and coastlines.

Critics spent little time objecting to the proposals.

The New Jersey Business and Industry Association said the requirement to sell all electric vehicles within 12 years “seems impractical, if not impossible, given the lack of charging infrastructure and its planning.”

“This policy also raises the obvious question of where all this increased power will come from,” the association said in a written statement.

The group also called natural gas “the primary fuel for both heating and power generation.”

“It cannot simply be bequeathed to oblivion, especially in the context of accelerated and arbitrary deadlines,” the statement said.

Several environmental groups also took issue with the proposals, saying New Jersey is not moving fast or ambitious enough to fight climate change and stop using fossil fuels.

Matt Smith of New Jersey Food & Water Watch said Murphy is not using his authority to stop new fossil fuel projects, six of which have recently been approved and seven more are under consideration.

“You can’t advertise your clean energy goals and create new sources of dirty energy at the same time,” he said.

Jeff Tittel, retired head of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the governor won’t stop fossil fuel projects, “so it’s just more chit-chat.”

“This proposal has more to do with public relations and his national political ambitions than climate change,” Tittel said.

Amy Goldsmith, state director of Clean Water Action, said that if the governor truly wants to be a national leader in clean energy, he needs to “stop promoting fossil fuel projects and move even faster towards inclusive rule-making and a truly fair future for the green economy.” ”

Activists and residents in the minority areas of Newark, Kearney and Woodbridge are fighting proposed gas-fired power plants in their neighborhoods and are waiting for the state’s environmental justice law to go into full effect. Murphy said Wednesday the law could go into effect in April, a day after the state Environmental Protection Agency set June as the effective date.

The initiatives have also received support from some environmental groups and solar panel vendors.

“Cars and trucks will become cleaner and more affordable, and many of the measures announced today will be enhanced by the Biden administration’s landmark clean energy plan,” said Mary Barber, state director of the Environmental Defense Fund. “Gov. Murphy sees the way forward and challenges the people of Garden State to make a climate-friendly choice and step on gas in the 21st century economy.”