The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has released a biennial report to state lawmakers assessing the state’s progress in meeting the 2006 legislative mandate to reduce emissions by 80% by the year 2050. The latest 80×50 Report proposes rapid adoption of three key strategies: replacing internal combustion vehicles with electric vehicles; converting space and water heating in residential and commercial buildings to electric; and replacing fossil fuels in the electric generation sector with renewable energy sources. These strategies target the state’s top three emissions sources – transportation, residential and commercial buildings, and electricity generation.
Among its most noteworthy recommendations, the report calls for aggressive legislative and regulatory action to electrify the transportation sector by requiring all new sales of light-duty cars, SUVs, and trucks to be electric by 2035. If New Jersey pursues that policy, it would join California as the only other state to ban the sale of gas-powered cars.
