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Global Warming Pollution in New Jersey: Key Steps to Reduce Emissions from Electricity Generation and Transportation 4/26/2005 Global_Warming.pdf News Release

Executive Summary

As the new home of NJPIRG's environmental work, Environment New Jersey can be contacted regarding this report.

Global warming poses a serious threat to the environment, public health and overall welfare of New Jersey and the rest of the world. In New Jersey, the major sources of carbon dioxide (the leading cause of global warming) are transportation and electric power generation. The state will have to address growing emissions in both of these areas in order to reduce its contribution to global warming.

The transportation sector is responsible for over half of New Jersey’s carbon dioxide emissions, and emissions are growing. Transportation in New Jersey produced 62.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2001 – 54 percent of the state’s total.

Unfortunately, consumption of both gasoline and diesel fuel continues to rise. Gasoline consumption in 2004 was 9.2 percent above 2001 levels, and diesel consumption has risen 16.1 percent. Steady growth in vehicle travel and stagnating vehicle fuel economy combine to impede progress in reducing transportation emissions.

Electricity generation is the source of one-sixth of in-state emissions, but its current and potential future impact on global warming is far greater. In 2001, the electric power sector was responsible for 18.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in New Jersey – 16 percent of the state’s carbon dioxide emissions. These emissions came from the natural gas and coal-fired power plants that serve about 40 percent of the state’s electricity demand. However, about 20 percent of the state’s electricity is imported from neighboring states, so New Jersey’s electricity use actually contributes more carbon dioxide than this figure suggests.

New Jersey also receives about 40 percent of its electricity from four nuclear power plants, which pose significant risks for public health and safety that are increasing as the plants grow older. For example, Oyster Creek, the oldest nuclear power plant in the country, is scheduled to retire in 2009 when its 40-year license expires. Because of the risks of catastrophic accidents and the unsolved problem of nuclear waste, nuclear power should remain off the table as a solution to global warming pollution. If demand continues to grow, which it has done for the last decade, replacing nuclear power would mean huge increases in emissions if it is done with fossil power.

Real solutions exist for New Jersey to build on the progress the state has already made in curbing global warming emissions. In order to tackle emissions in the transportation sector, the state must implement California’s forthcoming standards for tailpipe global warming emissions. In the long-term, the state will also need to develop a coherent strategy to reduce vehicle- miles traveled.

In the electric power sector, New Jersey needs to build on the success of its renewable energy standard and Clean Energy Program, which provides incentives for using renewables and energy-efficient equipment. The state must:

-Ensure that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative produces real emissions reductions. New Jersey is working with eight other northeastern states to design a regional cap-andtrade program covering global warming emissions from power plants. The state should ensure that the resulting cap requires reductions of at least 10 percent below current levels by 2010, and 25 percent below current levels by 2020.

-Complement the carbon cap by increasing energy efficiency and clean energy. The Board of Public Utilities is currently considering a proposal to increase the amount of electricity sold in the state that must come from clean, renewable sources. Increasing the standard to 20 percent by 2020, from the current level of 4 percent by 2008, will accelerate the state’s shift away from dirty and dangerous electricity sources and reduce global warming emissions.