To the Editor:

Given the headwinds we’re facing in Washington — and more to the point, given the Trump administration’s views on energy — we need all to take on the mantle for advocating for a more sustainable environmental future. Governor Murphy’s Energy Master Plan, finalized in January, is centered on a goal of reaching a 100% clean energy future by 2050. More pressingly, New Jersey will need to ramp up clean, renewable energy use to 50% of our electricity demand by 2030. That means every community will need to assist in a transition from dirty, polluting fossil fuels to a renewable future.

New Jersey communities like Princeton can lead the way forward for this transition to clean, renewable energy by moving towards a Renewable Energy Aggregation program. Other communities across the state have embraced this model, and Princeton would help bolster the demand for other towns to follow by moving forward with this program.

Princeton’s PCRE program is aligned with Environment New Jersey’s 100% Renewable campaign which is focused on three areas where we can make the most progress: college and university campuses, cities and states, and Congress. Changing our energy markets requires state and federal action, but the ripple effects of town and local action can build up a local movement to expand the reach of clean, renewable energy.

The moment of climate urgency is now and actions like this are a piece in helping to turn the tide.

Doug O’Malley
Director, Environment New Jersey
Trenton