Recent Work

Advancing Shared Solutions to Intersect Climate Action and Health Equity: Opportunities for NJ to advance health equity-informed climate solutions

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The Alliance's Public Health Workgroup has led efforts in New Jersey to document the disproportionate impact that climate change has on the same communities and populations that experience health disparities.  Previously, the workgroup: issued a Climate and Health Profile Report that outlines major anticipated impacts of climate change on public health in New Jersey;  convened a cross-sector convening of public health, social justice, environmental, health care and other leaders to outline climate change and public health strategies that more systematically connect health equity and climate; and issued a white paper that outlines an actionable framework for a Climate and Health Framework for New Jersey.  In June 2022, the Alliance issued a second white paper prepared by the Public Health Workgroup that outlines short term opportunities for action in New Jersey to systematically connect public health improvements to climate change action.

Forest Resource and Wetlands Resource Considerations for A New Jersey Natural and Working Lands Strategy

The Alliance’s Natural and Working Lands Workgroup (NWLWG) focuses on identifying opportunities to advance natural and working land strategies helpful to climate mitigation in the areas of Forest Resources and Wetlands resources. Two Working groups were formed beginning in the Spring 2021: one on Forestry and one on Wetlands. The outputs of each group can help inform the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Natural and Working Lands Strategy.

Forestry Working Group
In Spring 2021, the Full NWLWG convened a Forestry Workgroup to identify strategies for enhancing New Jersey’s ability to store and sequester carbon within forests. As a complement to this effort, the Forestry Workgroup was briefed by the Rutgers University developers of the  NJForestAdapt tool: a data visualization and mapping tool that provides geospatial and other information on climate change and New Jersey forests (including forest carbon). The Rutgers team also elicited feedback from the Forestry Workgroup for expansion of NJForestAdapt to provide analytical capacity for understanding forest vulnerability as well as opportunities for forest resources to act as a carbon sink. The report: Forest Resource Considerations for A New Jersey Natural and Working Lands Strategy summarizes the process and resultant strategy options for storing and sequestering carbon in New Jersey’s forest resources. These options for consideration can help inform the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Forestry component of a Natural and Working Lands Strategy. The NJForestAdapt team’s final report by Lathrop and Idell (2022) is appended to this report.

Wetlands Working Group
The Wetlands Working was convened in Fall 2021 to identify strategies to reduce/avoid emissions and enhance carbon storage and sequestration in New Jersey’s wetland resources, including both tidal and nontidal wetlands. The strategies have been compiled into the report Wetland Resource Considerations for A New Jersey Natural and Working Lands Strategy. These options for consideration can help inform the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Wetlands component of a Natural and Working Lands Strategy.

Outline of Potential Elements of Climate Change Resilience Legislation in New Jersey

The Long-term Planning Workgroup of the NJCCA explores how multi-sectoral state planning efforts, policies and investments in New Jersey can most adequately address long-term climate adaptation and support adaption efforts in local communities. A focused area of the Workgroup’s workplan has been to examine long-term funding for climate adaption that aligns with a cohesive statewide vision for adaptation as well as models for how a cohesive statewide vision for adaptation can be consistently linked to policies, incentives, standards and guidance at the local levels. The Workgroup has assessed climate resilience policies and programs in states outside of New Jersey, examined proposals for climate resilience policies in New Jersey, and deliberated on a meaningful and sustainable approach for comprehensive climate change adaptation policies in New Jersey. As a result of these efforts, the NJCCA has developed an outline of potential elements for climate change resilience legislative action in New Jersey. Given the NJCCA’s role as not promoting specific legislation, it has made this compilation of potential legislative elements available to inform dialogue in New Jersey. Read the Outline here.

Sustainable Organic Material Management Plan

In August, 2021, the New Jersey Climate Change Alliance Organics Workgroup finalized a Sustainable Organic Material Management Plan for New Jersey to help inform work going forward to reduce wasted food, feed those in need, and drive organics away from landfills which are significant contributors to methane emissions. Working through an extensive stakeholder engagement process with over 80 experts representing public and private sector organizations, including State, county and local government officials, academics, business and industry leaders, statewide associations, non-profit associations and consultants, the Workgroup conducted a holistic review of current organic material management practices focusing on food waste reduction and donation; food waste management in schools; community scale composting; large-scale organics recycling infrastructure; and sustainable animal manure management. The report identifies 17 core “opportunities for action.” Read the report here.   

As a direct follow-up to the Sustainable Organic Material Management Plan,  the New Jersey State Policy Lab  partnered with the Organics Workgroup to conduct a collaborative project that outlines potential public policies for consideration in New Jersey based on experiences in a set of other states and cities in a variety of areas, including opportunities in state and municipal government, the health-care sector, the nonprofit sector, the agriculture sector, the waste management sector, local school systems, and institutions of higher education. The companion study outlines 13 research initiatives and key findings, along with an additional section on the topic of reimagining prison food systems, a topic that repeatedly emerged during the research process.

Advanced Clean Trucks Program

Photo attributed to the Province of British ColumbiaThe Alliance Public Health Working Group in partnership with Rutgers University researchers developed a June 2021 “Health Note” on the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s proposed regulation: Advanced Clean Trucks Program and Fleet Reporting Requirements. The program would adopt, by reference, California’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Program, requiring manufacturers of vehicles over 8.500 pounds to increase the percentage of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) or near zero-emission (NZEV) (only those using battery technology) sold in New Jersey. The purpose is to ultimately reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and fine particles (PM2.5) through accelerating sales of ZEVs. This report offers a “health lens” through which to view some of the potential impacts of implementing elements of the rule. This analysis includes an emphasis on health equity, paying strong attention to impacts on populations and communities that may already suffer disproportionate health, social, environmental, and economic inequities, which may be exacerbated by a proposed decision. Thus, this evaluation is in effect a public health prevention model intended to help to prevent potentially unanticipated negative outcomes and costs, and to provide guidance on policy decisions that will improve health and reduce disparities.   Read the Health Note on the NJDEP proposed regulation: Advanced Clean Trucks Program and Fleet Reporting Requirements Proposed Amendment: N.J.A.C. 7:27A-3.10, Proposed New Rules: N.J.A.C. 7:27-31 and 33 here.

Read the related NJ Spotlight Op-Ed “Improving health outcomes through climate-change action” by NJCCA Public Health Workgroup Co-Chairs, Dr. George DiFerdinando and David Henry. 

Public Health Workgroup White Paper

The Alliance Climate Change and Public Health Working Group white paper summarizes the workplan of the NJCCA's Public Health Working group. The paper provides a history of the working group's efforts (including its Climate and Health Profile Report for New Jersey), outcomes of several convenings, examination of the intersection of climate and health equity, application of health impact assessment, and lessons from leading states that can be applicable to New Jersey within an emerging Climate and Health Framework for New Jersey. Advancing a Climate Change and Health Agenda for New Jersey: Opportunities for Action can be found here.

Health Equity

In partnership with the New Jersey Society for Public Health Education (NJSOPHE), the Alliance convened approximately 60 New Jersey leaders on June 24, 2019 to engage in a dialogue about the intersection of climate change and health inequities. The meeting participants outlined general areas for action at the state and local level as well as opportunities to build capacity in the public health and nongovernmental communities. The Alliance Climate Change and Public Health Working Group is now working to follow up to develop additional actions for New Jersey. A summary of the June 24 convening is available at this link.

NJAdapt

The Alliance has supported work to build public access to online tools, such as NJADAPT and NJ FloodMapper, that can help the general public, government officials, businesses, and non-governmental professional visualize and understand how they will be impacted by a changing climate. Follow these links to learn more:

• NJAdapt
• NJ FloodMapper

Offshore Wind

The Offshore Wind Planning process can be a confusing and daunting process with many levels of government involved in decision-making, leaving the public unsure of opportunities to have a voice in the process. The Alliance developed a brief guide that is designed to provide New Jersey citizens with background information regarding the developing offshore wind energy sector, how to be engaged in that process, and links to additional resources. The guide can be found here . 
Offshore wind energy is poised to expand dramatically along the eastern United States, including waters off the coast of New Jersey. However, the promise of sustainable energy also brings potential impacts on marine ecosystems from new turbines and transmission infrastructure. An Alliance working group has published a whitepaper to inform New Jersey coastal resource managers, scientists, and stakeholders about practices for ecological monitoring and mitigation of offshore wind energy systems by summarizing current policy and methodological approaches to ecological monitoring thus far at European and Eastern U.S. offshore wind installations. The whitepaper can be found here.

The Health Impact Project

In consultation with several public health organizations and experts at The Health Impact Project, the Alliance developed a rapid Health Impact Assessment on the draft state Energy Master Plan.  The HIA focuses on the concept of equitable access to conditions and resources that allows one to live the healthiest life possible. It pays strong attention to impacts on populations and communities that may already suffer disproportionate health, social, environmental, and economic inequities, which may be exacerbated by a proposed decision.   HIA offers a public health prevention model intended to identify potentially unanticipated negative outcomes and costs, and to provide guidance on policy decisions that will improve health and reduce disparities. The HIA can be found at this link.