For the second year in a row, the NJ Legislature has passed a clean energy and clean air bill (S1322/A1998) that would keep New Jersey in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a successful program among 10 northeast states to reduce carbon emissions and stimulate the economy.

Unfortunately, Gov. Christie has decided to veto the bill, squandering the state's opportunity for over $50 million/year to fund a clean energy future. On top of this major blow to progress on clean energy and clean air, Gov. Christie has already cut $700 million in clean energy funds in the last three years.

Take Action!

Gov. Christie has single-handedly pulled NJ out of RGGI. More than 60,000 New Jerseyans and a majority of the NJ Legislature have demanded to keep us in. Tell the NJ Legislature to override Christie's irresponsible veto today!

Christie's actions not only hurt your families' health and our environment, they hurt your wallet. Independent studies have shown that RGGI lowers energy bills (customers have saved nearly $1.1 billion), creates new jobs (16,000 total to date), and increases economic returns (RGGI has added $1.6 billion of economic value). More information can be found here and here from the Analysis Group and RGGI, Inc.

We only need a few more votes to override the governor's veto, and keep New Jersey in RGGI. Please contact your legislators and legislative leadership today.

Double Your Impact!

Phone calls and handwritten letters make a huge impact. After you send your email, please contact your legislators and legislative leadership via phone or mail. Make sure to personalize your message! We've given you a start, but your letter will have a much greater impact if it's in your own words.

Sample Letter/Message

I am extremely disappointed that Governor Christie recently vetoed an important bill (S1322/A1998) that would support keeping NJ in RGGI, a successful anti-pollution program and green economy booster.

In addition to reducing pollution, independant, expert, bi-partisan studies by RGGI, Inc. and The Analysis Group have shown RGGI's good for the economy (http://www.analysisgroup.com/RGGI.aspx and http://www.rggi.org/):

• Lower Energy Bills. Customers have saved nearly $1.1 billion. Energy efficiency investments can reduce energy bills by 15 to 30%, drive down overall electricity demand, reduce wholesale electricity prices and mitigate the need for investment in new electric generation facilities, transmission lines and distribution systems.
• New Jobs. RGGI's created 16,000 jobs. Each $1 million invested in building-sector energy efficiency retrofits creates 10 construction jobs plus jobs in the design and manufacture of energy-efficient materials and in renewable energy systems creates about 6 full-time manufacturing jobs, plus jobs in construction and facility maintenance.
• Economic Returns. RGGI's added $1.6 billion of economic value. Energy efficiency and renewable energy programs in the RGGI participating states indicate that these programs provide $3-$4 in savings for every dollar invested on top of the macroeconomic benefits.

For all these reasons, I strongly urge you to do all you can to ensure the Legislature overrides the Governor's veto of the clean energy/clean air bill S1322/A1998.

Sincerely,
Your Name and address

Contacts:

• Your 3 local legislators. Find them here.
• Senate Leader Tom Kean Jr., senkean@njleg.org, (908) 232-3673
  425 North Ave. East, Suite C, Westfield, NJ 07090
• Assembly Leader Jon Bramnick, asmbramnick@njleg.org, (908) 232-2073
  251 North Ave. West, 2nd Floor, Westfield, NJ 07090
• Senate President Stephen Sweeney, sensweeney@njleg.org, (856) 251-9801
  935 Kings Highway, Suite 400, West Deptford, NJ 08086
• Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, aswoliver@njleg.org, (973) 395-1166
  15-33 Halsted Street, Suite 202, East Orange, NJ 07018

Sign the Petition!

Join thousands of others in signing a petition asking the NJ Legislature to override Christie's veto! Sign the petition today!

Additional Information - Benefits of RGGI

RGGI state investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy deliver triple benefits - to the environment, consumers and the economy. Some of the benefits provided by RGGI state investments include:

• Fewer Emissions. By reducing the amount of energy demanded from fossil fuels, investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy reduce CO2 emissions and generate related reductions in emissions of other harmful pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy outside the capped electricity sector (e.g., incentives for improving the efficiency of oil and natural gas space heating) drive further emissions reductions beyond those achieved through the RGGI CO2 emissions cap.
• Lower Energy Bills. At the household and business level, energy efficiency investments reduce the amount of energy needed for air conditioning, water heating, and appliances, typically reducing energy bills by 15 to 30 percent. On a regional level, investments in electricity sector energy efficiency drive down overall electricity demand, reducing wholesale electricity prices and mitigating the need for investment in new electric generation facilities, transmission lines and distribution systems.
• New Jobs. Investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy drive demand for new products and services, creating jobs. Data from the Apollo Alliance shows that every $1 million invested in building-sector energy efficiency retrofits creates about ten direct jobs in construction, as well as additional jobs in the design and manufacture of energy-efficient materials. Data from the Renewable Energy Policy Project shows that the same amount invested in renewable energy systems creates about six full-time manufacturing jobs, as well as additional jobs in construction and facility maintenance.
• Economic Returns. Investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy are economically beneficial. Evaluations of several energy efficiency and renewable energy programs in the RGGI participating states indicate that these programs provide $3-$4 in savings for every dollar invested. When macroeconomic benefits are considered, the benefits are even greater.

Source: http://www.rggi.org/docs/RGGI_Proceeds_in_Brief.pdf