Natural Climate Solutions Grant Program

The Natural Climate Solutions Grant program is administered by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, a state agency responsible for protecting and managing New Jersey natural resources, addressing environmental challenges, and advancing climate resilience and sustainability initiatives. This program is funded through proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auctions, a multi state market based program designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The funding reflects New Jersey commitment to climate mitigation, clean energy advancement, and equitable environmental investment across communities. The primary purpose of the program is to support projects that enhance and expand natural systems capable of capturing and storing carbon. These systems, commonly referred to as natural carbon sinks, include salt marshes, seagrass beds, forests, urban parks, and street tree networks. By funding on the ground implementation projects, the program seeks to improve carbon sequestration capacity while also delivering co benefits such as improved water quality, biodiversity conservation, flood resilience, and community health outcomes. Eligible project types fall under two major initiatives: blue carbon and green carbon. Blue carbon projects focus on coastal ecosystems such as living shorelines, restoration of tidal flows in wetlands, and salt marsh vegetation restoration. Green carbon projects include forest restoration efforts and enhancement of urban tree canopy and water quality. These categories reflect a dual emphasis on coastal and terrestrial ecosystems, ensuring that both rural and urban environments contribute to statewide climate goals. Funding is provided on a reimbursement basis, meaning recipients must initially incur costs and then submit expenditure reports with supporting documentation to receive payment. Matching funds are generally not required except for private for profit entities or individual landowners, who must provide a twenty five percent match for projects on private property. This structure ensures broad participation while maintaining accountability for certain applicant types. The program is open to a wide range of applicants including state, county, and local government entities within New Jersey, educational institutions such as universities and colleges, interstate agencies that include New Jersey as a member, nonprofit organizations with federal tax exempt status under section five zero one c three, and private landowners within the state. This inclusive eligibility framework allows for collaboration across public, private, and nonprofit sectors to achieve environmental outcomes. Applications must be submitted electronically through the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection System for Administering Grants Electronically platform. The program operates on a rolling basis, meaning proposals can be submitted continuously without a fixed deadline. After submission, applicants can expect notification of funding decisions within approximately one hundred twenty days. While specific evaluation criteria are not detailed in the source material, projects are expected to align with program goals of carbon sequestration, environmental restoration, and equity. For additional information or assistance, applicants are directed to contact the Bureau of Climate Change and Clean Energy via the provided program email address. The program also offers supporting resources such as recorded webinars and application guidance sessions to assist applicants in preparing competitive proposals. The absence of a fixed deadline combined with ongoing support resources suggests an emphasis on accessibility and continuous engagement with potential applicants.