On December 13th, the New Jersey Departments of Environmental Protection and Agriculture introduced a joint “Natural and Working Lands Strategy Scoping Document” as part of the State’s climate change strategy.
New Jersey has implemented a progressive and comprehensive climate change strategy over the past several years, including adopting a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% below 2006 levels by the year 2050 (the “80×50 Goal”). The newly issued Scoping Document focuses on “carbon sequestration” as a necessary component to achieving that goal. The document states that clean energy along is not enough to meet the 80×50 Goal “without the additional reduction of 6 to 10.8 million metric tons of CO2 emissions due to carbon sequestration.”
The Scoping Document focuses on implementing carbon capture and sequestration practices in New Jersey’s:
- Forests
- Grasslands
- Wetlands
- Agricultural Lands and Aquiculture
- Developed Lands
- Aquatic Resources and Habitat
Recommendations in the Scoping Document range from adopting new best management practices and identifying additional financial resources for stakeholders to implementing restoration and preservation programs and facilitating green infrastructure.
New Jersey’s Natural and Working Lands Strategy has the potential for wide-reaching impacts on many categories of stakeholder groups, including land developers, the farming and fishing industries, and urban organizations.
Comments on the Scoping Document are being accepted until February 11, 2022, at: https://nj.gov/dep/climatechange/mitigation-nwls.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
