New Jersey Climate Change Resilience Strategy

New Jersey

Michael Baker International worked with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to create New Jersey’s first Climate Change Resilience Strategy. The strategy was mandated through Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 89, which appointed the state’s first chief resilience officer, established an Interagency Council on Climate Resilience, and directed the DEP to develop the strategy. The purpose of the strategy is to promote the long-term mitigation, adaptation and resilience of New Jersey’s economy, communities, infrastructure and natural resources throughout the state.

The strategy established six priorities for the state:

1. Build Resilient and Healthy Communities
2. Strengthen the Resilience of New Jersey’s Ecosystems
3. Promote Coordinated Governance
4. Invest in Information and Increase Public Understanding
5. Expand Resilience Funding and Financing
6. Coastal Resilience Plan

Michael Baker worked collaboratively with the DEP to develop the strategy through the agency’s leadership on the Interagency Council on Climate Resilience, comprised of 17 State agencies that guide and inform state actions to address the impacts of climate change.

The strategy recommends 125 climate change resilience actions to strengthen New Jersey against climate impacts, including the state’s unique risks from sea-level rise, chronic flooding, rising temperatures and more frequent and intense storm events. The strategy follows the release of New Jersey’s first-ever Scientific Report on Climate Change to which Michael Baker also contributed. The scientific report documents the specific impacts of climate change to New Jersey and serves as an important scientific basis for decision-making.