Climate change: How could NJ be impacted — and how should it respond?

This story originally appeared on NJ Spotlight.

A long-awaited report from the United Nations is characterizing the climate crisis as a “code red for humanity” — a sobering assessment that concludes it’s too late to prevent global warming from worsening in the coming decades. However, according to the new report, it’s possible to turn the situation around if major players, including New Jersey, do their part.

“All of the things that result from climate change, whether it’s more heat waves, greater sea level rise, heavier rain storms, more intense hurricanes … depends on how much warming there is,” said Dr. Anthony Broccoli, co-director of the Rutgers Climate Institute. He said “the first priority is to prevent additional warming.”