Clean Energy News

Trenton, New Jersey -- President-elect Obama’s choice of Lisa Jackson to head the Environmental Protection Agency represents a 180 degree turnaround for the United States on the environment. While President Bush has stifled new environmental protections and unraveled old ones, Lisa Jackson has for the past three years been working to make New Jersey a national leader on some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time.

In the summer of 2007, Lisa Jackson along with Governor Corzine championed the Global Warming Response Act, a new law that commits New Jersey to deep, science-based cuts in global warming pollution: 20% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.  In addition, Lisa Jackson is a leader with RGGI, Inc, serving as Vice President of the Executive Board of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the governing body overseeing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the nation’s first regional carbon trading program.  And, Lisa Jackson has worked in partnership with the state’s Board of Public Utilities and Governor Corzine to put in place aggressive plans to put New Jersey on the path to a clean energy future.

In October, Governor Corzine finalized a fifteen year energy plan for the state that sets the strongest clean energy goals in the nation.  Lisa Jackson was a leading voice making sure the Governor’s energy plan put renewable energy and energy efficiency first, ensuring new power plants that rely on dirty technology like coal and natural gas take a back seat in New Jersey's energy future. As a result, New Jersey’s energy plan calls for New Jersey to meet 30% if its electricity needs with renewable energy by 2020, and to reduce total electric use in the state by 20% by 2020, though a massive statewide green jobs effort to make over 3.7 million homes and businesses more energy efficient.

The president-elect has made it clear that converting to a clean energy economy and addressing global warming are top priorities for his administration.  Lisa Jackson has championed these issues in New Jersey and her skills, talents and experience in New Jersey make her the best choice to partner with President-Elect Obama as he crafts long overdue national solutions to global warming and our energy crisis.

We, Environment New Jersey, together with our colleagues at Environment America in Washington D.C, look forward to working with her to realize our shared vision.

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