New Jersey will require building permits to consider climate change

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy recently announced a new regulation that commits the state to achieve 50% clean energy by 2030 and 100% clean energy by 2050. 

Our Energy Master Plan will:
💡Drive a world-leading innovation economy
🌎Ensure environmental justice for all residents
💼Create good-paying jobs
🍃Protect our ecosystems
🏥Improve public health
✨Lead the way in the global clean energy transitionhttps://t.co/vfMZzlDlqc pic.twitter.com/xQYLffK4W1

— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) January 27, 2020

One step the state will do to make this goal is to require builders to take the climate crisis into consideration when seeking Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permits for a project. Specifically, the state will look at how the project will contribute to emissions and climate change. 

According to Digital Journal, the NJDEP is required to draft and propose regulations to integrate climate change considerations, such as sea-level rise, into its regulatory and permitting programs, including…land use permitting.

With the state’s 130-mile long coastline, one climate factor that will be looked at prior to each project’s approval is its effects on the rising sea-level. 

“Quite frankly, it will be hard for future generations to create their Jersey Shore memories if the Jersey shore becomes only a memory. We are not gonna let this keep happening without a fight,” says Murphy.