New Jersey Mayors Commit to Climate Action

Sold-out NJ Mayors’ Climate Summit presents Gold Star Standard in Energy as roadmap to advance climate action

Mayors from across New Jersey agree it is time they take a leadership role on climate change. Over 175 mayors, officials and leaders from municipalities large and small attended the sold-out NJ Mayor’s Climate Summit in New Brunswick today. At the event, the first twelve mayors formally pledged to work with Sustainable Jersey to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their towns. The list will be updated as the additional mayors officially sign-on. Read the pledge here.

First Mayors that Signed Pledge at the Climate Summit

1. Bergen County: Bruce Packer, Mayor, Glen Rock
2. Camden County: Chuck Cahn, Mayor, Cherry Hill Township
3. Essex County: Victor DeLuca, Mayor, Maplewood 
4. Essex County:  Kevin Ryan, Mayor, Verona
5. Hudson County: Ravinder Bhalla, Mayor, Hoboken
6. Hudson County: Steven Fulop, Mayor, Jersey City
7. Hudson County: Michael Gonnelli, Mayor, Secaucus
8. Hunterdon County: David DelVecchio, Mayor, Lambertville
9. Mercer County: Christopher Bobbitt, Mayor, Lawrence Township
10. Mercer County: Liz Lempert, Mayor, Princeton
11. Middlesex County: John C. McCormac, Mayor, Woodbridge Township
12. Morris County: Bruce A. Harris, Mayor, Chatham Borough

Municipalities have a crucial role in statewide efforts to address the climate crisis. Sustainable Jersey, the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Education Fund and Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy hosted the NJ Mayors’ Climate Summit to set expectations for 2018, a critical year as municipalities will ramp up their climate efforts and put New Jersey on track to meet more ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “The mayors and citizens attending today’s summit are America's new front-line leaders on climate change. New Jersey is one step closer to being the greenest state in the country,” said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Education Fund.

At the event, twelve New Jersey mayors publicly pledged to collaborate with Sustainable Jersey and make a significant effort to achieve Sustainable Jersey’s Gold Star Standard in Energy as part of their responsibility to constituents and future generations.

Randall Solomon, executive director of Sustainable Jersey said, “It’s one thing to sign a pledge, it is another to have an action plan to achieve it and a way to track progress. By working toward our Gold Star Standard in Energy these municipalities will be implementing proven strategies that will make a major contribution to our statewide effort to reduce greenhouse gasses. Any municipality that achieves the Gold Star in Energy can say with confidence--backed up with rigorous documentary evidence--that they are on a clear trajectory to solving the climate crisis.” Sustainable Jersey staff will work with municipalities moving forward on the energy actions.

The Summit included three panels of experts, resource organizations and local leaders discussing a pathway forward to enable New Jersey to succeed in meeting the challenges presented by climate change. Jeanne Herb of Rutgers Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and the New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance was a panel speaker. She said, “A changing climate and rising sea levels will have a devastating impact on New Jersey’s economy, the health of our residents, the State’s natural resources and the extensive infrastructure system that delivers transportation services, energy and clean water to millions of people in New Jersey. The Mayors’ Climate Summit was a good step toward finding practical solutions that can prepare us for the future.”

A recording of the event will be available next week at SustainableJersey.com and NJLCVEF.org.

NJ MAYORS’ CLIMATE SUMMIT CO-SPONSORS

ANJEC, ChargEVC, Food & Water Watch, New Jersey Audubon, New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, New Jersey Future, NJ Highlands Coalition, New Jersey League of Municipalities, ReThink Energy NJ and New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance.