Join us for a conversation on the role of forests in addressing climate change and how technology can make forest carbon projects more credible. In this one-hour webcast, GreenBiz Editorial Director Heather Clancy will moderate a discussion of World Resources Institute Deputy Director of Forests Fred Stolle, Verra Chief Innovation Officer Toby Janson-Smith, Pachama CEO Diego Saez-Gil, and Microsoft Carbon Program Manager Liz Willmott on key trends in the use of technology to improve forest carbon projects.

Among the topics: 

• The rationale for investing in innovative forest projects
• How to participate in innovative solutions for climate change 
• The top criteria for vetting forest carbon solutions 
• How technology can help de-risk and scale forest carbon projects 

Moderator:

• Heather Clancy, Editorial Director, GreenBiz Group

Speakers: 

• Fred Stolle, Deputy Director, Forests, World Resources Institute
• Diego Saez-Gil, CEO & Co-founder, Pachama
• Toby Janson-Smith, Chief Innovation Officer, Verra
• Elizabeth Willmott, Carbon Program Manager, Microsoft

If you can’t tune in live, please register and we will email you a link to access the archived webcast footage and resources, available to you on-demand after the webcast.

If you want to know what state-level clean energy leadership looks like, look no further than New Jersey. 

Since the beginning of the year, the Garden State has made headlines for three initiatives: its plans to transition to 100 percent clean energy by 2050; its investment in offshore wind; and its proposal to create an Office of Clean Energy and Equity.  

All three are commendable in their own right. They show how a state can signal the opportunities inherent in the clean energy economy, and the importance that it works for everyone. 

One person at the center of these initiatives is Joseph Fiordaliso, president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. At the end of June, I talked to Fiordaliso to better understand his perspective on the potential of clean energy, the importance of equity within all initiatives and how states can lead the way forward. The interview is edited for length and clarity. 

Sarah Golden: I wanted to talk to you about the Office of Clean Energy and Equity. Am I right in thinking this is the first office of this type in the United States? 

Joe Fiordaliso: I don’t want to say “yes” to that because I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that it’s the first office for the Board of Public Utilities (BPU).

The purpose is to ensure the fact that every community, regardless of income, regardless of where they live, is afforded the opportunity to participate in the green revolution that is occurring in the state of New Jersey. And we cannot be successful, looking at a very selfish perspective, if everyone is not involved. And everyone should be involved because everyone pays into it. And to say it’s only for the super-rich doesn’t sit well with me or Gov. [Phil] Murphy. 

Golden: I was taking a look at the timeline. I know [State Sen. Troy] Singleton introduced the bill in mid-May; you vowed to create this office in June. Is this in any way inspired, or is it rising in prominence, because of the Black Lives Matters movement? 

Fiordaliso: No. This has always been our goal. And Black lives do matter, by the way. And this has always been our goal. It’s always been on the governor’s agenda. Environmental justice and, what I get out of the environmental justice theme of the governor, is what I said before — that everyone has the opportunity to participate regardless of their economic standing. 

We just passed a very, I think, most impressive energy efficiency ruling here in the state of New Jersey. The BPU did that just a couple of weeks ago now, and I believe it’s the most progressive. This is the one thing that is going to help low and moderate-income folks to participate in the green revolution. So I’m very excited about that.

It is really an agenda that is all-inclusive. And I’m so proud of what we’re doing here. So many programs are geared towards those folks that can afford to participate. This is not. This is to afford the opportunity to everybody. And I’m thrilled that we’re taking this approach. I’m thrilled that the governor is one of the most progressive in the country, and we’re following his lead and the lead of many of our legislators. And it really is gratifying. 

Golden: Why is it important to establish an Office of Clean Energy Equity in addition to having such a progressive energy efficiency initiative?

Fiordaliso: To monitor and ensure that everyone has the opportunity. Many clean energy programs throughout the United States, including originally here in New Jersey, we’re so excited about initiating programs but less excited about tracking those programs. Less excited about ensuring that everyone has the ability to participate. That is extremely important. This office will, I hope, ensure the fact that we are monitoring this closely, and if certain programs are not reaching the general population, then we have to tweak them. Then we have to revise them. Then we have to alter them. But I think this is extremely important to point out, not only our successes but our failures. If we don’t know what our failures are, we can’t fix it. 

It’s important for us to seize the moment; carpe diem. Seize the day. That’s our obligation in government right now, seize that day.

One of the core missions of this office is going to be to point out the deficiencies and say, “Hey, we’re falling short here. Let’s find out why we’re falling short. Let’s find out why more people aren’t participating. Are there barriers there that we didn’t realize are there?” And fix it. Remove those barriers and continue to move forward. And I think that’s our obligation. We’re not only seeing certain people, we’re serving everybody. 

Golden: I’m struck by the opportunities that COVID represents to rebuild the economy. I was looking at an op-ed Singleton wrote; one line that stuck out to me is, “As New Jersey works to establish a path to economic recovery, as elected public servants, we must seize the moment to work toward a future that is affordable, equitable, accessible and sustainable.”

There are so many different realms right now where we get to reimagine because everything is starting from ground zero. I’m curious about the moment we’re in to be able to rethink and rebuild things, but also need to justify investments when state budgets are so strained. 

Fiordaliso: Very good question. We are in the process of establishing a massive evaluation program to ensure the fact that we’re getting the best bang for the buck, so to speak, out of all of the programs we have in the state of New Jersey because the taxpayers, one way or another, are paying for this. And they have the right to know whether or not we’re spending their money in a good fashion and if we’re not, we’d better adjust the programs and eliminate those that are not giving us the best bang for the bucks.

So we’re in this massive program to evaluate every single program. This has given us an opportunity, this crisis that we’re in, because out of crisis, many times, comes good things. We don’t see them initially, but it makes us rethink certain things, and makes us see what we’re doing.

These are all things that we evaluate and continue to evaluate more and more as we go down this road to a clean energy economy. We failed to mention, many, many times, that there is economic opportunity in the clean energy revolution. And the clean energy revolution can ignite a massive economic renewal. And every state, I would assume, is looking at an economic renewal after, or during, this pandemic. The programs we’re initiating, they will create jobs. 

Let’s take offshore wind as an example. We’ve positioned ourselves with the wind port that was approved [in June] to be the focal point for the supply chain for the entire Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. New Jersey is well-positioned to do that. That brings along 1,500 jobs, that alone, not including the jobs of the wind industry that are in the thousands. 

So economic opportunity exists. And it’s important for us to seize the moment; carpe diem. Seize the day. That’s our obligation in government right now, seize that day. Because that opportunity may evade us tomorrow. 

Golden: While we’re on the subject of offshore wind, can you talk about the potential for clean energy to jumpstart the economy? 

Fiordaliso: I’m going to go back just a little bit, if I may, to solar energy. 

In the early 2000s, we started the solar energy initiative here in the state of New Jersey. It has been a very successful program. Like every program, it needed a little boost to get started, and we provided that boost here in New Jersey with grants and incentives and so on. Today, we have over 140,000 solar installations. It has created over 7,000 jobs here in New Jersey, has contributed to the economic diversity here in New Jersey, and we expect the same to occur in the wind industry — but even on a bigger scale. 

When we’re finished with our offshore wind, millions of New Jersey residents will get energy that’s generated by windmills.

Keep in mind, and California knows this better than anybody, most of the clean energy initiatives have emanated from the states on up. We have gotten very little encouragement from the federal government, and over the past 3.5 years we’ve gotten even less encouragement from the federal government. 

Golden: One of the things that I found amazing about the investment in offshore wind and the ambitious targets of 7.5 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035 is you’re talking about investing in a whole new industry, a new technology and bringing it to the United States. Why is it significant to be embracing a new technology at this moment? 

Fiordaliso: It’s significant because it’s going to help us get to our goal. It’s significant because of the economic advancements it’s going to bring to our state. It’s significant because of the jobs that it will bring to our state. And, when we’re finished with our offshore wind, millions of New Jersey residents will get energy that’s generated by windmills. 

The jobs that that brings, the investments that that brings, are probably much more than we’re anticipating today. So it is exciting, but it is also something that’s going to transition our economy to a large extent to a whole new, different industry. 

So these are the things we’re looking at. It’s the idea that we have to bring our fellow citizens along and help to educate them and the benefits of renewable energy. Not only is it the fact that it might save our planet, not only the fact that we have a moral obligation, I believe, for our children, grandchildren and subsequent generation to improve this earth and try and mitigate the traumatic effects of climate change. Because whether we want to admit it or note, whether the federal government wants to admit there’s climate change or not, it’s here. 

Amazon’s plans to decarbonize its shipping supply chain isn’t just focused on electrifying its delivery vans.

The logistics and retail giant announced Wednesday morning that it plans to buy 6 million gallons of bio jet fuel via a division of Shell and produced by World Energy, a big biodiesel producer. The companies said the jet fuel will be made from agricultural waste fats and oils (such as used cooking oil and inedible fats from beef processing).

The move shows the efforts that Amazon is willing to go to eke out carbon emissions across its vast network of planes, vehicles and distribution centers that deliver on-demand goods across the globe. Amazon has pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, and says it will make sure half of Amazon shipments are net-zero by 2030. That commitment also includes buying 100,000 electric delivery vehicles, and using 100 percent clean energy by 2025. 

But the business of biofuels is a bit messier and — for bio jet fuel — at an earlier stage than procuring solar and wind energy or even purchasing electric vehicles. 

Amazon has pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, and says it will make sure half of Amazon shipments are net-zero by 2030.

The market for next-generation sustainable aviation fuel is just now being trialed commercially by airlines such as JetBlue and United, produced by developers such as World Energy and Finnish company Neste, and solicited by San Francisco International (SFO) and other airports. Neste announced Tuesday that it delivered its first batch of sustainable aviation fuel via pipeline for airlines refueling at SFO to use.

Over the years, a variety of airlines have tested bio jet fuels, some made with algae as a feedstock, and many abandoned the initial efforts after the fuels were not able to be made economically at scale. Since then, companies such as Neste have been able to industrialize the process of taking waste oils and fats from various sources and producing a fuel for vehicles and airplanes that can lower carbon emissions and be cost-effective. 

A drop in the fuel tank

In recent years, airlines increasingly have looked to the promise of bio jet fuels as a key way for the industry to meet climate goals. United Airlines announced last year that it is investing $40 million into advancing sustainable aviation fuel, including the purchase of 10 million gallons of it over two years — a drop in the fuel tank of roughly 4.3 billion gallons the airline uses annually.

Electric aircraft have been considered by much of the airline industry as too far away on the horizon and too expensive for commercial use. 

The aviation sector is being pushed by the United Nations-led Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for Aviation (CORSIA), which had planned to set a baseline of aviation emissions for 2020 and target carbon-neutral growth from here on out. However, just last week, the United Nations group that’s in charge of implementing CORSIA agreed to set the baseline targets for 2019 because of the coronavirus, essentially watering down the targets.

Regardless of the specifics, the airline industry is feeling the heat from its reliance on fossil fuel-based jet fuel and thus its relatively large emissions. Sustainability-focused large corporations whose employees do a lot of business travel are also considering ways to both reduce airline travel and also work with carbon neutral airlines.

Amazon’s news doesn’t just highlight the emergence of the bio jet fuel industry and the environmental spotlight on the airline industry, it also shows growing attention and worry around the carbon intensity of air cargo. The vast majority of goods in the United States are shipped by trucks, but a small and rapidly growing segment of goods are shipped by planes. 

This air cargo is not only one of the fastest-growing shipping methods, it’s also one of the most carbon-intensive.

Amazon began growing its fleet of 20 airplanes in 2015. By 2021, the retailer plans to have 70 planes in its in-house air fleet that move its one- and two-day deliveries. To decarbonize the fuel for 70 planes, Amazon will need a lot more than 6 million gallons of bio jet fuel. 

But Amazon’s willingness to begin purchasing this biofuel will help send a strong signal to the producers of the fuel as well as the greater airline industry. After a long wait, is the market for sustainable aviation fuel finally here?