Climate Week spin can’t hide the truth: You can’t fool Mother Nature

An environmental report card for the first eight months of the Sherrill administration

Nature has a funny way of cutting through political spin.

You can hold a Climate Week proclamation — or was it Climate Weak? You can give speeches about resilience, announce another task force, and promise to move fast. But when the rain comes, the water doesn’t read the press release. It floods the streets.

New Jersey is in the middle of a climate emergency, a flooding crisis, an affordability crisis, and a public health crisis caused by dirty air and contaminated water. Yet during Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s first eight months, too many of her administration’s policies are moving in exactly the wrong direction.

The recent flooding is not simply another natural disaster. It is a warning about where we are headed. While scientists are telling us that climate impacts and extreme flooding are getting worse, the administration is delaying stronger flood protections and New Jersey is making it easier to build. We are preparing for more data centers without stopping their explosive growth. We are increasing the pressure to generate more electricity while expanding fossil fuel infrastructure. We are diverting clean energy resources while sitting on billions of dollars in unmet conservation and infrastructure needs. We are letting developers take over state lands.

Then we call it climate policy. That is like putting a Band-Aid on a chainsaw wound and calling it healed. The problem is not that Gov. Sherrill has failed to say the right things about climate change. The problem is that too many of her actual policies are making the climate problem harder to solve, and, in some cases, worse.

The climate does not care about proclamations

Sherrill proclaimed Sept. 21-25 Climate Week in New Jersey. The administration highlighted extreme weather, resilience, clean energy, grid reliability, and data centers. During Climate Week, the Department of Environmental Protection also announced $9.4 million in Natural Climate Solutions grants and highlighted three regional teams working on resilience planning.

But where was the major new climate initiative? Then the rains came to wash away the spin.

There was no statewide moratorium on data centers, no major new statewide floodplain protection program, no comprehensive climate impact requirement for massive new developments, no statewide prohibition on expanding fossil fuel infrastructure, no major new greenhouse gas regulation, no major new statewide initiative on renewable energy or electric vehicles, and no move to unleash the hundreds of millions of dollars sitting in conservation programs to protect forests, wetlands and farmland.

Instead, we got more studies, announcements, and processes. Climate Week became a week of talking about the climate while the administration continued policies that make New Jersey less resilient. That is not climate leadership. It is climate theater.

Having major flooding during Climate Week was Mother Nature’s way of saying actions matter, not press releases.

Flooding: D-

Gov. Sherrill went down the shore to survey the damage from the recent nor’easter. The question is whether this will be a wake-up call or just another photo op. Will she change policy, or reassure developers that they can continue to pave over our state?

New Jersey is getting wetter when it rains and facing more extreme precipitation events while development continues to consume the forests, wetlands and open spaces that absorb stormwater.

Yet the administration delayed the implementation of the state’s REAL rules — the Resilient Environment and Landscapes regulations. The January 2026 REAL rules significantly amended protections involving wetlands, stormwater, flood hazards and coastal development. The Sherrill administration then extended the legacy period until July 20, 2027, while the rules undergo review. That extension was formally adopted Sept. 21.

These rules were developed after years of scientific analysis and public involvement to update New Jersey’s flood, stormwater, wetlands, and coastal protections for a changing climate.

Instead of letting the new protections fully take effect, the administration has put them back on the operating table. That is not simply pressing pause. It is putting more people in harm’s way. And while the rules are being reviewed, development does not stop, and neither does flooding.

New Jersey has experienced dozens of flooding events and numerous flash-flood warnings this year. The state ranks second in flood-prone development and Federal Emergency Management Agency flood claims. Yet the administration is emphasizing faster permitting and development.

We are experiencing more flooding, yet delaying stronger protections against development that can make flooding worse. New Jersey does not need a climate timeout. It needs a climate wake-up call. We cannot keep paving over our natural sponge and then act surprised when the water has nowhere to go. If this continues, we are all going to need snorkels.

Data centers: D

The governor’s data center policy is another example of the gap between words and results. The administration has enacted requirements concerning data center electricity and water use, clean energy procurement, and reporting. Its plan also calls for statewide standards for community benefits agreements.

But none of that stops the data-center buildout. There is no statewide moratorium, comprehensive statewide siting plan, or statewide prohibition preventing these massive facilities from being built in environmentally sensitive areas such as the Highlands and Pinelands.

There is no comprehensive environmental impact review that looks at the full cumulative consequences of a major data center buildout, including electricity, water, air pollution, backup generators, noise, light pollution, stormwater runoff, toxic materials, PFAS, land consumption, and the loss of forests and open space. The governor has said some communities may be appropriate for data centers and others may not, leaving much of the decision-making to municipalities.

That is passing the buck. A local planning board or council should not have to take on a project backed by billions of dollars, armies of lawyers, and engineering consultants while being asked to consider impacts that extend across municipal boundaries.

Residents should not have to fight developers, local politicians, pay-to-play interests, and officials signing nondisclosure agreements for Big Tech, while also fighting state agencies that are supposed to protect the environment.

Electricity demand is regional. Water is regional. Air pollution is regional. The electric grid is regional. Climate change is certainly regional. Yet the governor’s approach essentially tells every town: You figure it out. That is not statewide planning. It is statewide abdication.

The state is still providing major public subsidies for data-center development, including the reported $250 million package for the massive Kenilworth project.

And in Vineland, the DEP fined DataOne $1.07 million after finding that 62 large natural-gas generators had been installed and operated without required DEP permits. The DEP called it the largest enforcement action against a data center in New Jersey. But for a project reportedly worth $17.4 billion, a $1 million fine is pocket change, and the project can continue seeking permits despite the violations.

A fine after the fact is not the same thing as stopping a bad project before it creates a problem. And measuring a problem does not stop the problem. A meter does not reduce electricity demand. A water report does not create more water. A disclosure form does not prevent a forest from being cleared. A speedometer is not a brake.

The state needs to decide where data centers should and should not go, how much water and electricity they can consume, what clean energy requirements must apply, and how to protect environmental justice communities, the Highlands, Pinelands, farmland and other environmentally sensitive areas. Instead, New Jersey is building the regulatory paperwork while continuing to build the data centers.

We have green lights, but not guardrails.

Greenhouse gases: D — fossil foolish

The contradiction gets even worse on energy. New Jersey is trying to accommodate rapidly increasing electricity demand for data centers while continuing to rely on and expand fossil fuel infrastructure.

The state has moved forward with the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline project, which would expand gas capacity from Pennsylvania through New Jersey to New York. The NJDEP approved the project’s major permits in November 2025 and an air permit for Compressor Station 206 in January 2026.

The administration also wants to fast-track permits for fossil fuel infrastructure like the Gibbstown LNG export terminal, and is pursuing additional gas generation, including reopening closed, dirty plants. At the same time, the administration talks about accelerating the clean energy transition. We cannot keep stepping on the gas pedal and claim we are driving toward a zero-emission future.

More data centers mean more electricity demand. More electricity demand creates pressure for more power generation. If clean generation and storage do not grow fast enough, utilities turn toward gas. More gas means more pipelines, more greenhouse gases, and more local air pollution. That is not a transition. It is an energy treadmill.

And when the governor supports policies that increase demand while allowing fossil infrastructure to remain part of the answer, New Jersey risks locking itself into decades of additional fossil fuel dependence. That is fossil foolishness — and it is dangerous.

Nuclear: D

Sherrill has embraced nuclear power as another answer to New Jersey’s growing electricity demand. Instead of providing scrutiny and independent analysis, administration officials are acting like cheerleaders.

She signed legislation launching a competitive process to procure at least 1,100 megawatts of new nuclear power generation. The administration says the process will evaluate proposals based on regulatory, environmental, and financial information.

Nuclear power is carbon-free electricity, but that does not make every nuclear project good climate policy. The state still has to answer questions about costs, financing, radioactive waste, water use, safety, and construction time.

New nuclear reactors have historically been enormously expensive — $12 million to $14 million per megawatt — and slow to build. Small modular reactors are often promoted as the cheap, fast alternative, but their economics at commercial scale remain uncertain. Before committing ratepayers to another generation of nuclear investment, New Jersey should compare the full costs against efficiency, storage, solar power, transmission, and demand reduction.

The cheapest megawatt is often the one we never have to generate.

We should not spend billions figuring out how to make more electricity while wasting enormous amounts of the electricity we already produce.

Clean energy: D

One of the biggest contradictions is the use of clean energy resources to address short-term affordability problems. New Jersey families absolutely need relief from high electric bills. But diverting clean energy resources away from long-term climate and energy investments can undermine the very programs that reduce energy demand and bills over time.

Energy efficiency and conservation lower bills. Solar lowers bills. Storage lowers bills. Electrification lowers fossil fuel costs. Weatherization lowers energy demand. Distributed generation and microgrids can save money and improve resilience.

The Sherrill administration has diverted $155 million from the Clean Energy Fund and is using or redirecting up to $510 million from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) for ratepayer relief and other purposes.

New Jersey has billions of dollars flowing through programs supported by RGGI and other clean energy resources, with the state’s RGGI strategic plan directing proceeds toward clean transportation, building decarbonization, forests, clean energy, storage, grid resilience and other climate investments.

Instead of treating these investments as the foundation for affordability, the state increasingly treats clean energy resources as a piggy bank. That is like selling the fire truck to pay for the fire.

If the governor wants lower bills, make homes and buildings use less energy. Make the grid more efficient. Accelerate solar power and storage. Stop wasting energy. Don’t rob the future to pay today’s bill.

Open space: D

New Jersey is losing open space while facing enormous unmet conservation and park needs. There is $740 million in Green Acres funding sitting in accounts, while the need for park improvements, recreation, and conservation remains enormous.

At the same time, forests, farmland and wetlands are being targeted for warehouses, data centers and other development.

We lose 6,000 acres of farmland every year. Now the state wants to turn over state lands for development. That makes no sense.

Open space is not decorative. It provides natural flood infrastructure, drinking water protection, wildlife habitat, carbon storage, farmland, and recreation. It is the sponge that keeps stormwater out of people’s basements. Every acre we preserve can provide benefits for generations.

Every acre we pave creates another problem that taxpayers will eventually have to pay to fix. We should be spending down the open-space backlog, not watching the landscape disappear while money sits on the shelf.

And there is a serious crisis in our parks. Historic buildings are being demolished. Park facilities are falling apart. Bathrooms and swimming areas are closed. There is a $1.5 billion backlog of needed repairs, improvements, and upgrades. We should be fixing the parks we have and protecting the land we need, not handing public land to developers.

NJDEP: D

The administration says Operation FAST is about making government work better. That may be worthwhile. Nobody wants government delays or staff buried in unnecessary paperwork. But the DEP is not the Department of Customer Service for developers. It is the Department of Environmental Protection.

The administration has emphasized shot clocks, permitting dashboards, expedited reviews, and a permitting czar. This is not about the dedicated, hardworking staff at the DEP. It is about leadership.

The DEP is being asked to do more with fewer resources while being pushed to move permits faster. The DEP’s budget was cut by about $150 million, and the department has about 2,800 staff members, compared with almost 3,700 in 1995.

The danger is that the measure of success becomes how fast permits are issued rather than whether projects are safe, lawful and environmentally sound. Fast tracking permits becomes even more troubling when the state itself is proposing to lease hundreds of acres of public land to developers and build thousands of units on those lands.

How can the DEP fast-track permits for development on land owned by the state? You cannot put a stopwatch on endangered species habitat. You cannot put one on groundwater contamination. You cannot rush a wetland. You cannot fast-track flood protection. You cannot tell scientists to hurry up because a developer’s financing deadline is approaching.

If the governor wants to make government faster, then make toxic cleanups faster. Make enforcement faster. Make renewable interconnections faster. Make climate adaptation faster. But don’t turn environmental review into a race where the finish line is a permit. Otherwise the DEP risks becoming the Department of Expedited Permits.

“Red tape” is the excuse used to get rid of rules that are protecting you

Whenever politicians say they want to eliminate red tape, people should grab their wallets, and environmentalists should grab their boots.

Red tape becomes an excuse to get rid of wetlands protections, floodplain review, stream buffers, public hearings, environmental justice review, drinking water protections, and scientific analysis. Those are not bureaucratic inconveniences. They are the guardrails that keep development from becoming tomorrow’s disaster.

Polluters do not complain because government is moving too slowly when they are waiting for a permit. They complain because somebody might tell them no. There is a difference.

Clean air: D

New Jersey’s environmental justice communities continue to deal with warehouses, truck traffic, ports, industrial facilities, and power plants. We have communities where children are breathing polluted air while politicians talk about economic development.

Where is the statewide emergency response to cumulative air pollution? Where is aggressive diesel enforcement? Where is large-scale port electrification? Where is a comprehensive warehouse strategy? Where is protection against piling another major pollution source into communities that already carry more than their share?

Environmental justice cannot be something politicians talk about during a press conference and forget when the permit application arrives. The fires at the EMR recycling facility in Camden are just one small part of a much larger problem.

Toxic cleanups: D

New Jersey also continues to struggle with thousands of contaminated sites. The state’s privatized cleanup system places much of the responsibility on consultants working for polluters or developers. That creates an inherent conflict of interest.

You should not let the person responsible for the mess decide when or how the mess is cleaned up, or whether it is really cleaned up at all.

New Jersey has turned site remediation into a system too focused on development. The question becomes how fast a contaminated site can be redeveloped rather than how thoroughly it is cleaned. That is pave and wave.

These sites need stronger DEP oversight, independent verification, aggressive enforcement, and transparency. The Keyport landfill is a perfect example of why. The landfill was closed decades ago, yet environmental concerns and enforcement issues continue.

Communities should not have to spend generations fighting to get contaminated sites cleaned while developers and polluters move on to the next project. A contaminated site does not become safe because the file gets thicker.

The people’s park and other development fights

The same problem appears when public lands and environmentally sensitive properties become development opportunities. The administration’s position on the Suntex Marina lease and the continuing litigation over the State House Commission’s decision raise serious questions about the future of public waterfront land.

The state should be protecting public resources, not finding new ways to commercialize them. The governor has maintained and expanded logging on public lands in the Highlands and Pinelands. Her administration is continuing the bear hunt and has not reversed Christie-era rollbacks on water and flooding.

The same concern applies to warehouses in the Highlands and development threatening farmland, forests and water resources. The administration has approved a massive warehouse project on environmentally sensitive farmland next to a Category 1 stream in Pohatcong.

Gov. Sherrill has talked about protecting New Jersey from warehouse sprawl and even about a moratorium. The question is whether those words mean anything when projects continue moving forward. A warehouse does not become environmentally benign because it pays property taxes.

Fighting Washington means building a state backstop

There is no question that federal environmental policy has become more hostile to environmental protection. That makes New Jersey’s responsibility greater, not smaller. If Washington rolls back environmental safeguards, New Jersey should strengthen its own.

Pass stronger state climate standards. Protect endangered species under state law. Strengthen wetlands protection. Protect clean water. Regulate methane and greenhouse gas emissions. Strengthen environmental justice requirements. Defend the Highlands and Pinelands. Protect public lands.

Do not use federal rollbacks as an excuse for state rollbacks. Pass legislation like Oregon’s approach to adopting former federal environmental standards as state standards. New Jersey should be an environmental backstop, not an on-ramp for federal environmental destruction.

Don’t complain about Washington tearing down the environmental wall while New Jersey is quietly removing the bricks.

The final grade: Government moving fast, and in the wrong direction

The storm led the governor to declare a state of emergency in eight counties, and the emergency was lifted Sept. 29. She has a choice between treating climate change as a communications strategy or treating it as the defining environmental crisis it actually is.

The evidence is already around us. Floods and extreme weather are getting worse. Data center electricity demand is exploding. Forests and farmland are being developed while preservation needs go unmet. Fossil fuel infrastructure remains part of the energy strategy, clean energy resources are being diverted, and environmental rules designed to make New Jersey more resilient are being delayed and reconsidered.

This is not a question of whether Gov. Sherrill gives good speeches about climate change. It is a question of whether her policies reduce climate risk or increase it.

You cannot say you are fighting flooding while making it easier to pave the landscape. You cannot say you are fighting climate change while increasing dependence on fossil fuels. You cannot say you are protecting open space while leaving preservation needs unmet as forests and farmland disappear. You cannot say you are protecting the environment while turning the DEP into a permitting fast lane. And you cannot call it climate leadership simply because you put the word “climate” on the agenda.

Nature has already given New Jersey its report card. The floods, dirty air, water pollution, and overdevelopment are the red ink. The question is whether the governor is going to read it.

New Jersey does not need another administration that manages environmental decline with press releases. It needs an administration that prevents the damage in the first place, because when the next storm comes, there will be no press conference big enough to hold it back.