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New Jersey Forest Service Forest Climate & Carbon Program

New Jersey’s forests play a key role in keeping the air clean and the climate healthy.

The Forest Carbon & Climate Program studies how climate change affects forests and how forests, in turn, help mitigate climate change by continuously absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it as carbon. By removing carbon dioxide from the air and storing carbon in trees, forests help reduce the buildup of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.

 

🌿 Did You Know?

🌳 Forests cover approximately 40% of New Jersey’s land area.
⚛️ Trees and soils in New Jersey store nearly 200 million metric tons of carbon.
🚗 That’s like offsetting the emissions from driving 1.82 trillion miles in a gas-powered car – the equivalent of driving from Cape May Point to High Point State Park over nine billion times!

 

Learn more about the importance of carbon in our New Jersey forests:

🎥 Check out our video “What’s Carbon Got To Do With It?”!

📧or email us directly a askaforester@deptest.nj.gov

[vc_tta_accordion active_section=”999″ collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”About the Program” tab_id=”1748458238560-f5391aa8-f3ba”][vc_column_text css=””]The Forest Climate & Carbon Program helps monitor, manage, protect and and strengthen New Jersey’s forests. The program focuses on how forests store carbon, how climate change and forest disturbances affect that storage, and how we can manage forests to keep them healthy and resilient.

Disturbances like wildfires, storms, insect outbreaks and diseases can cause forests to release carbon back into the atmosphere. Actions can be taken to reduce those risks by promoting forest diversity, regeneration and adaptive management. This means making sure that forests can recover from stress, continue to grow, and keep absorbing carbon for decades to come.

Examples of the work that is underway include:

  • Measuring how much carbon New Jersey’s forests store and absorb each year.
  • Developing science-based forest management practices that keep forests healthy, diverse, resilient and productive.
  • Supporting New Jersey’s greenhouse gas reduction goals by helping forests remove and store more carbon over time.
  • Communicating to New Jersey’s public the importance of our state’s forest carbon resources

[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”📑Carbon & Climate Resources” tab_id=”1748458238560-2884c256-3d34″][vc_column_text css=””]How New Jersey Is Taking Climate Action

New Jersey has made strong commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for a changing climate. The Forest Climate & Carbon Program supports these statewide goals by managing forests that store carbon and by helping natural areas stay healthy and resilient.

Some of the key state actions include:

  • Global Warming Response Act (2006, updated 2019): Sets the goal to cut New Jersey’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80% below 2006 levels by 2050.
  • Executive Order No. 274 (2021): Adds an important milestone—cut emissions 50% by 2030.
  • Executive Orders No. 7 and No. 89: Rejoined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and created an Interagency Council on Climate Resilience to coordinate statewide climate planning.

These laws and policies guide how New Jersey manages forests, wetlands, and open spaces to capture and store more carbon.

State Plans and Reports

Learn more about how New Jersey is addressing climate change:
Here are key resources you can explore:

State Forest Action Plan (2020, update in 2025):
Describes forest health and management priorities statewide.
View the Plan →

 

New Jersey Natural and Working Lands Strategy (2024):
Outlines how forests, farms, and wetlands can help reduce emissions, increase carbon absorption, and build resilience.
Read the Strategy →

 

New Jersey Scientific Report on Climate Change (2020, update in 2025):
Summarizes how climate change is affecting New Jersey’s environment, including forests.
Read the Report →

 

New Jersey Priority Climate Action Plan (2024):
Highlights the State’s top strategies to meet the 2030 emissions goal.
Read the Plan →

 

Additional Resources

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