An independent research study released today has found that rising temperatures over the next century will result in damaging effects on New Jersey's shoreline that devastate the state's economy and environment.
The report was produced by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the Center for Integrative Environmental Research (CIER) at the University of Maryland. Environmental Defense Fund helped to finance the research and produce the report.
The report found that climate change consequences across New Jersey will include:
o Costly economic impacts with the price to protect coastal residents from a one- to three-foot increase in sea levels at Long Beach Island, N.J., put at $160 million to $790 million by the U.S. Environmental protection agency. New Jersey's coast, it was noted, is home to 60 percent of the state's population with land and property valued at $106 billion.
o Temperature in New Jersey will increase two to eight degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, which will cause coastal sea levels to rise two to four feet during the 21st century. This will trigger 1 percent to 3 percent of coastline to be lost to rising sea levels.
o Tourism: In 2005, New Jersey's tourism exceeded $30 billion, 70 percent of which was generated in the coastal areas. Researchers predict that should climate change force a mere 1 percent decrease in tourists visiting the region by 2017, the indirect economic impact would be a deficit of $3.7 billion and a loss of 40,000 jobs.
The study was part of the State Economic and Environmental Costs of Climate Change, which examined the impacts of global warming on 12 states around the country.
NCSL released the report today during an energy conference at the group's Legislative Summit in New Orleans.
In addition to New Jersey, the report looked at how climate change will impact the economy and environment of Colorado, Illinois, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
The report said the effects of climate change should not be considered in isolation because "every state's economy is linked to the economies of surrounding states as well as to the national and global economy. Since state economies are directly linked to the economies of neighboring states and regions, policymakers may wish to consider both state and regional policies to address climate change."
It said also that more information on the localized effects of climate change–including its impacts on water resources, ecology, health and natural resources–is needed to improve state mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Better data on local outcomes would improve estimates of economic effects that climate change will have on a state, according to the study.
Data on the project can be found at: http://www.ncsl.org/print/environ/ClimatechangeOver.pdf. The New Jersey report can be found at: http://www.ncsl.org/print/environ/ClimatechangeNJ.pdf
NCSL said individual states have already begun to address the issue of climate change with six states enacting mandatory greenhouse gas reduction laws; 13 states setting voluntary targets; and 26 states passing renewable energy portfolio standards.
"State-focused information on the economic impacts of climate change is crucial to policymakers. Since many of the responses by policymakers will require resources, we need to be able to prioritize our plans so that the fiscal implications are minimized," said New Jersey State Sen. Tom Kean, R-Union City.
"The Jersey Shore is critical to New Jersey," said Mark Brownstein, managing director of Business partnerships at Environmental Defense Fund and former member of New Jersey' Renewable Energy Task Force. "Failure to take immediate steps to cut greenhouse gas pollution threatens the Shore, and with it the multibillion-dollar tourism industry that drives New Jersey's economy."
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