New Jersey Pinelands Commission

Climate Change

Climate Change

Identifying Measures to Mitigate Impacts
Pinelands Climate Committee
Interagency Council on Climate Resilience
Related Presentations & Documents
Related Links

Identifying Measures to Mitigate Impacts

The Pinelands Commission is working to identify and implement measures to mitigate the effects of climate change, which poses a new and severe threat to the region's environment. This new webpage provides information about climate change and the Commission's efforts to address it.

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Pinelands Climate Committee

The Commission established the Pinelands Climate Committee (formerly known as the Land Use, Climate Impacts and Sustainability Committee) in December 2018 to review the potential effects of climate change in the Pinelands and formulate ways to mitigate impacts. The Committee's meetings are open to the public and public comment is strongly encouraged. Recordings of previous meetings are available by clicking here. To review the Committee's meeting minutes, please click here.

Since its formation, the Climate Committee has hosted numerous presentations from a variety of experts and has laid the foundation for its work. In November 2020, the 15-member Commission adopted a resolution that establishes the agency’s objectives relative to climate change in the Pinelands Area and the responsibilities of the Climate Committee. The resolution acknowledges the need to address the impact of climate change on the Pinelands and New Jersey. It also identifies the necessary steps to be taken, including reviewing Commission policies and the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) in order to identify ways to mitigate climate change impacts. In an effort to lead by example, the Commission's staff has and will continue to examine the day-to-day operations and management policies at the Commission facilities to identify changes needed to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. For example, the agency recently applied and was granted approval for an energy audit of the four facilities that house the Commission's staff. The audit will be conducted through the Local Government Energy Audit (LGEA) Program, an energy efficiency program sponsored by New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP). The Commission also installed a 340-square-foot rain garden at its headquarters in late June 2022. The garden captures and filters stormwater generated by the Richard J. Sullivan Center for Environmental Policy and Education, while providing habitat for wildlife and helping to mitigate climate change impacts such as flooding. For a slideshow of photos showing the Commission's new rain garden, please click here.

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Interagency Council on Climate Resilience

The Pinelands Commission was invited to join the New Jersey's Interagency Council on Climate Resilience in October 2021. Formed in 2019 via Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 89, the Council is charged with developing the state’s Climate Change Resilience Strategy, which was released in late 2021, and coordinating state agency implementation of the priorities and recommendations in that plan.

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