The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) today released a new report warning that New Jersey’s climate mandates are driving a policy-induced affordability crisis that functions as an “Activist Tax” on households, raising energy costs, straining the power grid, and threatening public support for emissions reduction. As electricity prices surge and clean energy projects stall, the report finds that politically driven mandates are colliding with economic reality in ways that disproportionately burden working families.
The report, titled “New Jersey: Ambitious Goals Meet Reality,” is the second in a PPI series examining how rigid climate mandates and technology-specific requirements can unintentionally impose higher costs on consumers, what the authors describe as an “Activist Tax,” when affordability and grid reliability are treated as secondary concerns.
“New Jersey has already picked the low-hanging fruit,” said Neel Brown, Managing Director at PPI. “What remains are the hardest and most expensive steps, and when policymakers ignore affordability, those costs become an ‘Activist Tax’ paid by working families. That’s how you lose public support for climate action altogether.”
Authored by Brown and John Kemp, an internationally recognized energy markets expert, the report finds that New Jersey’s strong emissions record reflects structural advantages, not recent policy mandates, meaning today’s high-cost requirements deliver diminishing climate returns while increasing the “Activist Tax” on residents.
Despite this strong baseline, the state’s current energy strategy is increasingly strained by rising costs, grid constraints, and stalled clean energy projects. With energy affordability a top focus for Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill, New Jersey faces a critical opportunity to recalibrate its approach before mounting pressures undermine both climate progress and political support.
Key findings from the report include:
The authors argue that rigid technology mandates, premature plant retirements, and politically motivated interventions have imposed what they call an “Activist Tax,” a policy-driven cost burden that ultimately falls on consumers. When affordability erodes, public support for climate policy erodes with it. The report urges policymakers to pivot toward outcome-based policies, prioritize clean, firm baseload power, and treat affordability as a core metric of climate success.
PPI’s analysis offers a roadmap for recalibrating the state’s climate strategy, emphasizing flexibility, affordability protections, and pragmatic planning to sustain momentum toward decarbonization.
Read and download the report here.
Founded in 1989, PPI is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Find an expert and learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Follow us @ppi.
###
Media Contact: Ian O’Keefe – iokeefe@ppionline.org
