Murphy Administration Releases Building Decarbonization Roadmap

On Nov 6, 2025

The Murphy administration today has released a strategic roadmap for building decarbonization, including recommendations for policy, legislative, and regulatory advancements, along with workforce development and funding strategies.

The set of recommendations to meet the state’s goals for decarbonization are the result of a multi-year, whole-of-government approach among agency experts that included recommendations presented by the Clean Buildings Working Group to reduce the state’s second-largest source of pollution.

Governor Murphy signed Executive Order 316 in 2023, which directed the Governor’s Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy (OCAGE) to develop and release a strategic roadmap to building decarbonization to meet New Jersey’s ambitious goal of electrifying 400,000 residential and 20,000 commercial units by 2030.

According to a press release issued by the Governor’s Office, the burning of fossil fuels in buildings accounts for approximately 25% of the state’s emissions.

Ray Cantor, deputy chief government affairs officer of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) noted that NJBIA and its member companies agree that we need to reduce carbon emissions from the building sector.

“To that end, we fully support encouraging best practices, a focus on energy efficiency, and the development of new technologies that can be deployed at scale,” Cantor said. “We also support innovative measures like the use of renewable natural gas.

While we welcome the ideas and suggestions in this report, we reject the idea of mandates, especially to meet artificial deadlines,” he continued. “We are facing an affordability crisis in New Jersey, and that crisis impacts both our residential and business communities. We need to innovate, encourage, subsidize where appropriate, and share information. But we must stop government mandates that only drive up the cost of doing business and living in New Jersey and instead focus on growing our economy.”

The roadmap provides recommendations across five themes, with a focus on customer adoption, workforce development, health benefits, and equity:

• Decarbonization Policies: New Jersey must accelerate electrification through innovative regulatory measures, enhanced financial incentives, and consumer education.
• Utility Regulatory Evolution: Reforms in gas and electric utility regulations are necessary to align investments with decarbonization goals while ensuring affordability and reliability.
• Equity and Environmental Justice: Policies and funding initiatives must prioritize underserved communities to ensure equitable access to clean energy benefits and protections.
• Workforce Development: Expanding technical training and certification programs and job pathways is essential to preparing a diverse workforce for the growing demand for clean energy jobs.
• Data Collection and Performance Tracking: Robust data collection and performance tracking mechanisms are crucial for informed decision-making and sustained progress toward climate goals.

“Over the past eight years, we have worked across government to grow New Jersey’s green economy and reduce emissions. This report is the culmination of partnerships across labor, industry, and communities throughout the state – each bringing unique insight and experience to drive the adoption of energy efficiency improvements and emissions reduction upgrades in New Jersey’s buildings,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “Together, they have put forth a comprehensive strategy for lowering emissions as part of our all-of-the-above approach to climate action.”

“With this roadmap, we are releasing a whole-of-government approach to equitably addressing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from the buildings sector,” said Eric Miller, Executive Director of OCAGE. “The recommendations in the strategic roadmap reflect national best practices and countless hours of work by key stakeholders and government experts to craft an actionable pathway to make progress on building decarbonization.”

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