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Climate change is a threat to communities all over the world, but for those of us who call the Garden State home, global temperature increase will cause very specific impacts to our region that will change life as we know it. The economic, health, and environmental threats posed by climate change compel us to act to prevent and to mitigate the worst effects before it is too late.

According to States at Risk, New Jersey is the sixth fastest warming state in the nation. It is also the most densely populated, and one of the most racially diverse states. Climate change-related emergencies have disproportionately negative impacts on low-income and communities of color. Just looking at recent years in our state, we see that communities that are already socially vulnerable face serious impact from floods, hurricanes, and heat waves. Similarly, climate change has a notable impact on public health; temperature spikes can cause injury, high pollen years intensify respiratory illnesses, and insect booms can spread disease.

With 130 miles of beautiful Atlantic coastline, the threat of sea level rise is a unique and urgent danger to New Jersey. If the climate continues to warm at its current rate, the sea is expected to rise anywhere from eighteen inches to four feet, putting livelihood and infrastructure at stake with the loss of beaches and wetlands. Not only will this gravely impact the people who work and live along the coast, sea level rise will also disrupt the coastal ecosystems that provide habitats for wildlife and the foundation for much of our robust fishing industry. Sea turtles, horseshoe crabs, and the great blue heron are just a few of the animals with habitats at risk from rising oceans. Saltwater intrusion, a byproduct of sea level rise, creates a significant threat to our aquifers and the soils where crops and trees currently grow. That means danger to the very water and food that keep us nourished and healthy.

Climate is an equity issue just as much as an environmental one. Proponents of racial, class, and social justice like myself must see the intersections of our most pressing community issues with climate change, and push forward the building of resiliency where it counts. We must fully invest in clean energy, build on the momentum of a just transition to a more resilient grid, and prepare our economy and infrastructure to better handle the fallout of climate emergencies.

I am a father, and as a parent I am deeply concerned about the health of our environment for future generations. I want my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren to grow up in a state and country where they have the opportunity to grow and succeed. Their wellbeing is dependent on a stable and healthy climate.

I commend Gov. Phil Murphy for taking initiative to tackle the climate crisis in our state, and am hopeful that our federal government will continue to advance solutions that will enable our nation to bring down carbon emissions and build up our climate resiliency. But still, there is so much more we have to do to prevent and prepare. It’s critical that leaders, political or otherwise, take the steps available to them to mitigate climate change and help advance the social will to transform our climate response on a wider scale.

It’s no secret that New Jersey is an incredible place to live. At the Souder Group, we do not take that privilege for granted and also acknowledge the many other unique threats posed by climate change to the various places people call home around this great country. We believe climate action is not just an important endeavor, but an essential one.