New Jersey residents are grappling with the impacts of more frequent and more severe floods, high tides, extreme heat, and wildfires. Extreme weather effects reach across political, socioeconomic, and geographical boundaries. These impacts have led to loss of power, homes, land, property, livelihoods, income – and in the most severe instances, loss of life.

According to Rebuild by Design’s Atlas of Disaster, from 2011-2021 the state of New Jersey had 13 climate disasters, leaving each county with at least five disasters. These disasters cost taxpayers more than $7.2 billion dollars, ranking New Jersey as the state with the third highest per capita spending on climate disasters in the nation. About 70 percent of the New Jersey properties have repeatedly flooded and been repaired five or more times. The same amount of properties have been rebuilt at taxpayers’ expense, with the median payment for each flood claim topping $25,000.

The risk continues to grow. Climate scientists have projected a reality where Ocean City is underwater, frequent heat waves occur in Newark, and the Meadowlands are “swamped,” putting some of New Jersey’s most critical infrastructure at risk as soon as 2040. By 2045, projections indicate that more than 62,000 New Jersey homes – valued at $26.8 billion – could be underwater, displacing nearly 80,000 people. We cannot wait any longer to protect the lives and livelihoods of New Jersey residents.

To ensure a livable future, it is crucial that the State of New Jersey secures sustainable, long-term funding for climate adaptation infrastructure. Residents of New Jersey are demanding proactive and comprehensive climate adaptation strategies to ensure that increases in the frequency of severe weather need not lead to increases in destruction.