Credit: (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, FILE)In the wake of a dire new report on climate change, activists and clean-energy advocates are pressing officials to step up the shift to a clean-energy economy, but others argue it would be more prudent to slow the transition and focus on reliability and cost.
Both views were aired Friday during a day-long conference on Energy and Decarbonization: a New Jersey Business Perspective, an event that offered sharply different perspectives on just how serious the climate crisis is and what needs to be done.
Those contrasting perspectives could be a prelude to an even sharper debate later this year as the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, the organizer of the conference, hopes to be able to help shape the business community’s public response to the clean-energy debate. Among its questions are whether the goals are feasible or desirable given technology, cost and reliability considerations.
The Murphy administration wants to transition to a 100% clean-energy economy by 2050 while also achieving an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2006 levels by mid-century.
In the conference, Judith Curry, president of the Climate Forecast Applications Network, argued too much focus on dealing with the climate crisis has been placed on establishing targets for reducing emissions and increasing the market share of renewable energy.
‘Overblown’ perception of crisis
“The perception of crisis and level of alarm often portrayed in the media and by politicians is overblown,’’ Curry said. Natural gas is essential for keeping prices in check while necessary investments in technology and infrastructure are necessary to meet net-zero emission goals in the future, she said.
“Net-zero emissions” refers to goals set by states like New Jersey to eliminate all man-made greenhouse gas emissions. The state has set a target of reaching that goal by 2050.
“It’s time to listen to the business, not the politicians and activists,’’ Curry said.
In New Jersey, however, the state is unlikely to slow down its efforts to cut carbon pollution and promote clean energy.
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Joseph Fiordaliso, who preceded Curry in speaking at the conference, spoke of the urgency of moving forward and not abandoning clean-energy efforts. “It won’t happen because Governor Murphy has his foot on the accelerator,’’ Fiordaliso said.
With the administration facing repeated questions about the cost of moving forward on clean energy, Fiordaliso defended the transition, saying clean energy is good for business. “I’m not here to tell you it’s not expensive,’’ he said, adding clean energy will bring more money into the economy.
No immediate end to fossil-fuel use
Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said he has told advocates pushing to shut down all fossil fuel projects that that is not going to happen anytime soon.
“We need carbon-based fuels to power our economy,’’ LaTourette said. “It is why we don’t see the DEP responding to calls for a fossil fuel moratorium.’’
But others spoke of the need to push forward on developing clean energy. “More needs to be done and quicker than is happening today,’’ said Dan Shreve, head of global wind energy research at Wood MacKenzie.
Steve Westhoven, CEO of New Jersey Resources, the owner of New Jersey Natural Gas, suggested deeper emission cuts at a lower cost could be achieved by using existing infrastructure that uses carbon-neutral fuel supplies.
In the area of power transmission, there was wide agreement that modernizing an aging power grid needs to be one of the biggest, and probably will be one of the more expensive, tasks in decarbonizing the grid. The cost could run as high as $2.4 trillion based on a study by Princeton University, according to Bob Martin, a former DEP commissioner.
“The costs will be significant,’’ Martin said, although there is increasing private investment in modernizing the grid.
“Transmission infrastructure is key to achieving higher renewable energy in the grid,’’ added Shreve.
