WEC Staff

TOM JOHNSON, ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT WRITER | SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 | ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT Governor boosts goal for green power, key to carbon-free target New Jersey plans to ramp up its reliance on offshore wind, now with a new executive order from Gov. Phil Murphy to increase the state’s goal for building wind farms off the coast. Murphy, speaking Wednesday at an event in New York City for Climate Week, increased the state’s target of 7,500 megawatts from wind turbines by 2035 to 11,000 MW by 2040. The move underscores the importance of offshore wind in achieving the administration’s transition to a 100% clean-energy economy by mid-century. “This is an aggressive target, but achievable,’’ Murphy said. At the same time, he announced the release of a Council on the Green Economy study that projected the state can expect an additional 314,886 net jobs over the next 10 years based on current green policies and investment. ... “The transition to a green economy will create thousands of good paying, family sustaining jobs for New Jersey workers and offers an unprecedented opportunity to expand our workforce that will ensure fossil fuel workers will not be left behind,’’ said Debra Coyle, executive director of the NJ [...]

NEW YORK – Governor Phil Murphy today signed Executive Order No. 307, increasing New Jersey’s offshore wind goal by nearly 50 percent to 11,000 megawatts (MW) by 2040. The Executive Order, which increases the state’s current goal of 7,500 MW, also directs the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to study the feasibility of increasing the target further. Accompanying the Executive Order, Governor Murphy also announced the release of the Green Jobs for a Sustainable Future report, created by the New Jersey Council on the Green Economy in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy. The report outlines recommendations and pathways for growing a demographically representative and inclusive green workforce as New Jersey pursues its clean energy future. Established during Governor Murphy’s first term, the Council is comprised of experts, advocates, and leaders from across industry and organized labor. Governor Murphy directed the Council to prepare the report in order to promote diversity and opportunity in the green economy for environmental justice communities while making pathways to green jobs more accessible for workers, especially union members. ... “The roadmap offers policy solutions that will help create a green economy that will produce good green jobs that are accessible to [...]

NEW JERSEY — It is nice when someone calls you a "hero." But that does not put food on the table for your family, these New Jersey advocates say. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, elected officials and workplaces in the Garden State held parade after parade for front-line and other essential workers, often centering their campaigns on a single word: "hero." But now it is time for them to put their money where their mouths are, according to a coalition of social justice and labor advocates. Earlier this week, dozens of New Jersey essential workers and representatives from several unions and pro-worker organizations paid a visit to Trenton to deliver a letter to state legislators, demanding "hazard pay" for essential employees across the state. Read their full statement here. Signers to the letter included NJ State AFL-CIO, RWDSU Local 108, UFCW Local 360, UFCW Local 1262, UFCW Local 464A, ATU, JNESO, SEIU 32BJ, NJ State Council, Make the Road New Jersey, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP), Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE), New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ), New Jersey Working Families Party and NJ Work Environment Council. Read the whole article here: Essential Workers Deserve Hazard Pay – And NJ Has The Cash: [...]

Some New Jersey Amazon workers upset by an imminent job site closing walked out in solidarity Wednesday, June 1. Bellmawr, NJ - One Bellmawr worker told Eyewitness News he felt he was being treated like "warehouse machinery," not people. Amazon is reportedly closing the Camden County facility and forcing them to take shifts at a warehouse further away, the outlet said. But an Amazon spokeswoman said that Bellmawr's employees are being offered opportunities to work at five different sites that are as close as nine miles from their current location.... Debra Coyle, Executive Director, NJ Work Environment Council, said, "The New Jersey Work Environment Council stands in solidarity with the Amazon workers that walked off the job early Wednesday morning at the facility in Bellmawr," "It’s time Amazon, who made record profits during the pandemic, stops putting profit over people and prioritizes their workers' needs including a living wage, good benefits, and safe working conditions," Coyle said..... Read More: Amazon Workers 'Treated Like Machinery' Strike At NJ Facility: Report

New Jersey Clean Energy Coalition Urges Murphy Administration to Equitably Invest Federal Infrastructure and Jobs Funding TRENTON, NJ – A coalition representing New Jersey’s environmental, business, social justice, conservation, labor, and climate advocacy communities is calling on the Murphy Administration to equitably and strategically invest federal Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) funds to support residents in greatest need... “Availability of this federal funding represents a historic opportunity for the state to ensure counties and towns – particularly those most impacted by the devastating impacts of global climate change – are supported and prepared to advance New Jersey’s climate, jobs, and justice objectives,” said Debra Coyle, executive director of the NJ Work Environment Council (WEC) and co-coordinator of Jersey Renews... Read More: New Jersey Clean Energy Coalition Urges Murphy Administration to Equitably Invest Federal Infrastructure and Jobs Funding