Can New Jersey Meet the Paris Accord standard? Will it matter?

President Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement on June 1, 2017, saying “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.” This leaves the US alone in the world. At the time of the original signing, only Syria (of eligible countries) held back, but earlier this month it declared its intention to sign.

How much difference does this make? On the plus side, the US withdrawal can’t actually take effect until 2020. Also, many states, including New Jersey, have their own targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, targets that are close to meeting the US contribution to the Paris Agreement. California’s targets are more stringent than the US target for the Paris Agreement, and California is actually ahead of schedule!

On the bad side, the EPA is being gutted and any honest federal effort to meet the US target is unlikely. Further, even if the US made an honest effort to meet its commitment, the total contributions promised in the Paris Agreement, from all countries including the US, are barely enough to keep global temperature rise below 3ºC. That’s half again as much as the 2ºC rise that was the goal of the Agreement. The total contributions of all nations toward emissions reductions will be only 1/3 of the reduction required to hold the rise below 2ºC.

So what can we do? A recent UN report proposes that action in just six categories would fill a large part of this gap:

1. Solar energy: New Jersey was a leader in this category in 2010, and could be again.
   
   If you install solar panels at home, you have to make an upfront investment, but some households that have made the investment have found  their  electricity bills reduced to almost nothing. Free quotes are available for determining whether your home would benefit and what the payback period would be. Just google solar panels. You will also find a Solar Savings Estimator, provided by Google.
   
   There is currently a bill in the New Jersey legislature to target 80% clean energy by 2050, and our new governor Phil Murphy has proposed 100% clean energy by 2050. However, we need more legislation to bring clean energy to everyone, including renters and business districts. For this, we need to install “solar gardens” for communal use. At present, New Jersey laws don’t support this. They need to be changed.
   
2. Wind energy: In 2010, Governor Christie signed the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act, with much ballyhoo.
   
   Subsequently, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has dragged its feet on determining the funding mechanism. Governor Murphy needs to revive this.

3. Efficient appliances: Most of you are familiar with Energy Star, a certification of energy efficiency. The role of energy efficiency is surprisingly important. By reducing demand for electricity, it can reduce our emissions by as much as 5 to 15%, depending on which study you believe
   
   Until recently, our ability to store electricity was minimal. Plants had to increase and decrease production as demand rose and fell during the day. This motivated utilities to encourage use of all the electricity they produce, even wasteful use of it. To utilities, energy-inefficient appliances were a gift, useful to simplify operations as well as to increase profits.
   
   Older appliances tend to be extremely wasteful. So a good way to improve efficiency and cut your electricity bill is to buy new ones, especially those with the Energy Star label.
   

1. Efficient passenger cars: Need to buy a new car? Consider an electric vehicle, and not just to reduce emissions. The electric motor has full power from 0 mph, giving it the best acceleration on the road. Want to get on a fast-moving highway? Want to cut off the guy trying to pass you on the right at a stoplight? Get an electric vehicle — or at least a hybrid. Also, the electric motor is far more reliable than the internal combustion engine, because it’s so much simpler. And improvements in the motor should come rapidly.
   
   The only hindrance is the scarcity of charging stations, but there are bills in the NJ legislature to help fix this problem. Support those bills! Half of New Jersey’s emissions come from the transportation sector, and most of that is from passenger cars. This source of emissions must be addressed.
   
2. Reforestation and 6 Stopping deforestation: Plants absorb CO2. The more plants, the less damage greenhouse gas emissions do. Plant bushes, shrubs, and trees (but not over your roof, you need those solar panels).
   
   New Jersey is already quite good on this count.

It will be interesting to see if the new governor lives up to his promises for the environment. If he does, New Jersey may well be able to achieve a clean, renewable future much sooner than expected, although we will have to move fast to be as soon as is needed.