Fact Sheet: Achieving 100% Clean Energy in New Jersey

Rising global temperatures risk irreversible worldwide ecological and climatic changes, with widespread impacts on human health and natural systems. These the threats include more violent storms, droughts, floods, acidifying and warming oceans, and altered growing seasons. Climate change has already strengthened storms like Superstorm Sandy that devastated New Jersey and the rest of the Northeast Atlantic seaboard. We must rapidly transition away from dirty fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas to clean, renewable energy as soon as possible to prevent the worst effects of a warming planet. New Jersey can and must shift to 100% renewable energy by 2035. TWEET  

Key takeaways from the fact sheet:

• New Jersey’s coastal sea levels have risen approximately one inch every six years and are predicted to be over two feet higher by 2050 due to climate change.
• Currently, less than 3 percent of New Jersey's electricity comes from clean renewables like wind, solar, tidal or geothermal energy.
• The New Jersey Off Fossil Fuels Act (S1405/A1823) is the strongest climate bill in history and charts a path for New Jersey to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2035.
• New Jersey ranked fifth in the nation for solar in 2016, with a capacity of 2,234 megawatts, enough to power nearly 350,000 homes and provide over 6,000 jobs.
• The state’s rooftop solar alone can increase 20 times from 2013 levels, which could meet over a third of the state’s annual electricity consumption.
• New Jersey’s energy efficiency sector employs more than 31,000 workers and cost-effective improvements in energy efficiency could result in 26 percent energy savings for New Jersey families.

Tell your members of the New Jersey legislature to support the NJ OFF Act today: fwwat.ch/NJ100by2035