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.
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.
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.
List of Possible Climate Change Actions Plan (4/22/2019 Draft)
May 23, 2019 Presentation on the Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the New Jersey Pinelands
November 8, 2019 Presentation on Climate Projections and Potential Actions -- Michael B. Gerrard
October 30, 2020: 2021 Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program Challenge
November 2020: Adopted Resolution Regarding Climate Change Principles
January 20, 2021: Estimating Risk of Flooding from Sea Level Rise
January 20, 2021: Solar Energy Facilities in the Pinelands Area
March 17, 2021: Presentation on Forest Stewardship by the New Jersey Audubon Society
March 17, 2021: Pinelands Conservation Fund -- Permanent Land Protection Update
March 17, 2021: Presentation on Climate Change, Fire and Forestry by Leslie Jones Sauer
July 14, 2021: Presentation on Forest Carbon and Climate Information by the New Jersey Forest Service
May 27, 2022: Commission Vehicles: Planning for the Future
July 8, 2022: Pinelands Commission Rain Garden Installation
July 29, 2022: Climate Committee FY23 Work Plan
July 29, 2022: An Outline for Development of Climate-Related Amendments to the NJ Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan
September 30, 2022: Commissioner Lohbauer's CMP Amendment Recommendations (Pinelands Climate Committee)
September 30, 2022: No Net Loss Compensatory Reforestation Act (Pinelands Climate Committee)
September 30, 2022: Statewide Resilience Actions Plans (Pinelands Climate Committee)
February 15, 2023: Pinelands Commission: Our Internal Path to Sustainability
February 15, 2023: 2023 Statewide Water Supply Plan
February 15, 2023: Update on NJ's Interagency Council on Climate Resilience; Pinelands Commission's Resilience Action Plan for Extreme Heat
April 19, 2023: Pinelands Management Area Boundary Assessment for Climate Risks
April 19, 2023: Climate Committee Update: State and Office Initiatives
July 19, 2023: Board of Public Utilities Presentation on Lighstar Agrivoltaics for New Jersey Pinelands Farmers
July 19, 2023: Board of Public Utilities Presentation on the Dual-Use Solar Energy Program
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Local Government Energy Audit (LGEA) Program
New Jersey's Clean Energy Program
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Climate Change Webpage
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Air Quality, Energy & Sustainability
New Jersey Forest Service - New Jersey State Forest Action Plan
New Jersey Forest Service - Atlantic White Cedar Restoration
Rutgers Climate Institute
Rutgers - New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center
Rutgers - NJADAPT: A Suite of Online Tools for Planners and Practitioners
Rutgers - Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist