In effort to bring environmental and energy concerns to all of the gubernatorial candidates, a bipartisan coalition of advocates and elected officials has launched Enviro Fix in ’26, a comprehensive and nonpartisan environmental agenda that they say is designed to set the priorities for the next administration.
Enviro Fix in ’26 aims to bring together environment, public health, faith, and local community advocates to lay out key environmental and health issues facing New Jersey in 2026 and beyond. Members say the 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.
That’s the way Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, sees it.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Members say Enviro Fix in ’26 focuses on five key policy areas:
- Building and modernizing a clean energy future: The goal is for New Jersey to 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 group said 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 feel 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.
- Preserving open spaces and expanding access to parks: As the most densely populated state in the nation, the group feels the state needs 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: Transportation is the single largest emitter of climate pollution in New Jersey. The group feels the state needs to ensure the Corporate Transit Fee funding for NJ Transit through the Corporate Business Tax is made permanent even as we invest in innovative new clean transportation options, from electric vehicles to micro-transit solutions.
- Safeguarding the statewide clean water resources. To ensure that every New Jersey family has access to safe drinking water, the group feels the 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.
The following leaders/organizations are part of the Enviro Fix in ‘26 coalition:
- Melissa Miles, executive director, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance
- Jennifer Coffey, executive director, Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions
- Dr. Elizabeth Cerceo, chair of Health and Public Policy, NJ Chapter of the American College of Physicians
- Alex Ireland, CEO, New Jersey Audubon
- Jim Waltman, executive director, The Watershed Institute
- Sabrina Rodriguez, Advocacy and Government Affairs manager, New Jersey Future
- Eric Olsen, director of Conservation, New Jersey Chapter of the Nature Conservancy
- Thomas Dallessio, executive director, Musconetcong Watershed Association
- Barbara Blumenthal, ReThink Energy NJ
- Alison Mitchell, executive director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
- Anjuli Ramos, director, Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter