New Jersey Future Statement on the RGGI Strategic Funding Plan

TRENTON, April 17, 2020 — New Jersey Future Executive Director Peter Kasabach released the following statement on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Strategic Funding Plan:

“There is much to like in the Murphy Administration’s recently released Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative scoping document that will guide upwards of $80 million per year of investments. Of particular note are implied commitments to using these funds to improve the conditions in communities that have historically been disproportionately affected by poor air quality. Funding for carbon sequestration through investments in urban forests and a focus on electrifying large vehicles, such as buses and garbage trucks that serve these communities, is a positive step.

However, we continue to be concerned by the Administration’s lack of focus on reducing driving through better land-use planning and development incentives as a strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Legislature specifically identified land-use planning as an intended use for RGGI funds, and the co-benefits of this approach are exponential. Now more than ever, we are seeing a clear picture of the specific environmental, health, and greenhouse gas reduction benefits of less driving. Any effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would be incomplete without a program that reduces car-dependence.”