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Advocates, elected officials launch Enviro Fix in '26, a nonpartisan environmental agenda for the next NJ governor
As New Jersey approaches a historic gubernatorial election later this year, a bipartisan coalition of advocates and elected officials are launching Enviro Fix in ’26, a comprehensive and nonpartisan environmental agenda designed to set the priorities for our state’s next governor.
This bold agenda highlights a series of popular steps that will protect New Jersey’s clean air, drinking water and existing natural resources — while lowering costs for working families and creating jobs for union workers.
Enviro Fix in ’26 brings together environment, public health, faith, and local community advocates to lay out key environmental and health issues facing New Jersey in 2026 and beyond.
“Over the past seven years, Trenton has worked to put New Jersey on the forefront of environmental policy, from making energy more affordable through investments in clean energy like solar—which is the cheapest form of energy—and protecting our homes and businesses from flooding as well as securing dedicated funding for open space preservation,” said Ed Potosnak, Executive Director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. “At the same time, our state continues to face existential challenges from threats ranging from climate change to lead and PFAS contamination. We know the environment is critical to New Jersey’s residents and voters and communities of color are disproportionately negatively impacted by pollution from industry and burning dirty oil and gas. We need our next governor to outline their plans to address these challenges and leverage them as opportunities to lower costs for working families and create a sustainable and economically prosperous state that works for every New Jersey family, regardless of race.”
Enviro Fix in ’26 focuses on five key policy areas:
- Building and modernizing a clean energy future. New Jersey must achieve its goal of 100% clean energy by 2035 while also making essential investments to modernize our electric grid and switching to cost-saving electricity to heat our homes and power our appliances. These policies won’t just put New Jersey on the forefront of the fight against climate change, it will also lower costs for working families and improve the health of our families, particularly Black and brown residents, who breathe air polluted by dirty oil and gas.
- Safeguarding New Jersey families and businesses from climate change and investing in resilient communities. The Los Angeles fires remind us of New Jersey’s recent fires, drought, and floods and highlight the fact that more frequent and extreme weather events are already impacting our communities. The next governor must lead the charge to protect our cities and towns against the threats posed by climate change, while pursuing sustainable solutions that protect sensitive ecosystems.
- Ensuring that all New Jerseyans are able to breathe clean air. New Jersey has some of the worst air quality in the nation, which exacerbates health issues like asthma in children and heart disease in seniors. Black and brown communities across our state are disproportionately impacted, and the next governor must take steps that clean our air.
- Preserving open spaces and expanding access to parks. As the most densely populated state in the nation, we need to double down on efforts to permanently preserve 500,000 acres of open space from development and ensure a park is accessible within one mile of where people live. Achieving this goal is crucial to protect fragile ecosystems, reduce flooding and carbon pollution, and provide places for New Jersey families to experience the outdoors.
- Expanding public transportation with clean and reliable options so every New Jerseyan can get around — regardless of their ZIP code. Transportation is the single largest emitter of climate pollution in New Jersey. We need to ensure the Corporate Transit Fee funding for NJ Transit through the Corporate Business Tax (CBT) is made permanent even as we invest in innovative new clean transportation options, from electric vehicles to micro-transit solutions.
- Safeguarding our statewide clean water resources. To ensure that every New Jersey family has access to safe drinking water, our next governor must prioritize funding to remove lead pipes while also addressing emerging contaminants, like PFAS and microplastics, that threaten our health. The state must also support cities and towns as they seek to address stormwater by providing investments and technical assistance that protect water quality and eliminate the release of untreated sewage into our rivers and streams.
Today’s announcement is just the beginning of a comprehensive effort to make the environment a top issue on the campaign trail by educating voters about the policies our state needs to adopt to protect our health, lower costs, and combat environmental threats.
Following are quotes from members of the Enviro Fix in ‘26 coalition:
Melissa Miles, Executive Director, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance
"We need to listen to the voices of those who have borne the brunt of environmental racism in New Jersey. For far too long, environmental justice communities have suffered from the pollution of dirty oil and gas power plants, along with the exhaust from diesel trucks and gas-powered cars. This toxic legacy has resulted in alarming rates of asthma, heart attacks, and cancer. Clean energy offers us a transformative path forward—not just to combat climate change but to reduce harmful pollution, protect public health, and bring justice to communities that have endured these inequities for decades.”
Jennifer M. Coffey, Executive Director, Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC)
"New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the nation. We are nearing complete buildout. Now is the time to preserve the last remaining lands available to ensure we can maintain a viable agricultural industry, protect our drinking water resources, and provide safe places for residents to connect with nature, which we know is critical for our quality of life, physical and mental health. We must also be strategic in preserving open spaces and accelerate the investment in open space preservation in urban and densely populated areas so that all residents, regardless of the amount of their paycheck, have access to vibrant public spaces that make New Jersey such a special place to live."
Dr. Elizabeth Cerceo, Chair of Health and Public Policy, NJ Chapter of the American College of Physicians
“Urgent warnings are coming from climate scientists, presidents and prime ministers, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, religious leaders including the Pope, institutions like the National Academy of Medicine, and 56 US medical societies. The health of New Jerseyans is at risk. NJ is warming faster than any other state on the continental US and already 445 die from extreme heat every year, rising to 3,560 a year at the end of the century, if nothing is done to slow climate change. We need 100% clean energy because there is no safe amount of air pollution. The Global Burden of Disease, over 204 countries, now tells us that air pollution is the leading contributor to the global disease burden, outpacing hypertension, smoking, diabetes, and a host of other conditions we know to contribute to poor health outcomes.”
Alex Ireland, PhD, President & CEO, New Jersey Audubon
“Protection and stewardship of open space is critical for the health of people and wildlife here in the Garden State. As the most densely populated state in the nation, we need to advance strategies to accelerate land protection in ways that allow for equitable human access and connect habitats for species of concern. 500,000 acres is a big goal, but the people of New Jersey can do big things!”
Jim Waltman, Executive Director, The Watershed Institute
“Due to climate change, decades of development that occurred before any environmental regulation, and the continued creep of asphalt, concrete and other hard surfaces that are impervious to rain and snow, New Jersey’s waters are often ‘too much,' 'too little,' and 'too dirty.’ The current administration has enacted several important measures that have helped slow the pace at which our water pollution and flooding problems will get worse. But more needs to be done to restore degraded streams, rivers, and wetlands, and protect our residents’ health from lead, microplastics, forever chemicals, and other toxic pollutants. New Jersey must stand up to the dangerous tide flowing north from Washington, DC and redouble its commitment to protect its water, environment, and people.”
Sabrina Rodriguez, Advocacy and Government Affairs Manager, New Jersey Future
“New Jersey Future looks forward to working with our partners and the next governor to create a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable New Jersey. The next Administration can ensure permanent funding for NJ Transit, clean drinking water through the removal of lead pipes, climate change-ready communities, and new, protected, and accessible urban open spaces - such as by funding Capital Park in Trenton. We look forward to working with New Jersey LCV and the next administration to turn these important priorities into action.”
Eric Olsen, Director of Conservation, New Jersey Chapter of the Nature Conservancy
“New Jersey has been a national leader on land conservation, with residents consistently voting in favor of preservation initiatives, and as a result we’ve been able to preserve more than 30% of the state as parks, open space and farmland. But now New Jersey is at a crossroads, with the rate of conservation significantly slowing down in recent years. We know that our natural lands are critical for ecosystem services worth billions of dollars, the physical and mental health of residents, and the protection of native plants and animals. We look forward to working with the next administration and our partners to safeguard these resources by finding ways to accelerate the pace of conservation and protect 50% of New Jersey’s most critical remaining lands by 2050.”
Thomas Dallessio, Executive Director, Musconetcong Watershed Association
"Protecting and improving the Musconetcong Watershed and its waters for people and nature requires that key lands that buffer our Category-1 and national Wild & Scenic River are preserved. That's why we support efforts to preserve 500,000 acres statewide including 6,800 acres of farmland and forest in our Watershed, which will also help ensure that the Musconetcong River is restored to meet federal and state standards for primary contact."
Barbara Blumenthal, ReThink Energy NJ
"We need to remain vigilant in our efforts to ensure that New Jersey's future is green and clean for future generations, starting with achieving 100% clean electricity by 2035. Clean electricity will power buildings and vehicles, and New Jersey families will save on their energy bills. New Jersey needs to continue to remove barriers and make it easier for families to choose healthy, highly efficient appliances such as heat pumps."
Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
"New Jersey must preserve 50% of the most critical remaining lands for biodiversity, clean drinking water and agricultural values by 2050, and ultimately half of our state. If these lands are developed, essential ecological functions and services will be lost, leading to an overall erosion of environmental quality. Greening the state’s under-resourced communities and rectifying decades of environmental injustice goes hand in hand with this goal."
Anjuli Ramos, Director, Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter
“The NJ Sierra Club is here today in partnership with our environmental advocacy community to ensure that environmental protections and bold climate action are at the forefront of New Jersey’s Gubernatorial candidates’ campaign platforms and to demand that our next Governor in 2026 prioritizes them”, said Anjuli Ramos-Busot, NJ Sierra Club Director. “Everyday, our residents face the growing impacts of climate change, severe weather, toxic pollution, and more. We need a leader in 2026 who can stand up to the rollbacks of environmental protections and investments at the Federal level and remain steadfast for the right of every New Jerseyan to have clean air, clean water, and a safer climate future.”