State lawmakers have passed a bill that would formally commit Hawaii to achieving clean transportation.

With the passing of Senate Bill 3311, the state would give itself a goal to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions across all modes of transportation. It also would establish working groups consisting of both public and private stakeholders that would promote clean interisland transportation and electric vehicle adoption.

Local government in Hawaii has for years invested in and committed to various initiatives to reduce the use of nonrenewable energy sources. Hawaii’s mayors, for example, agreed in 2017 to make ground transportation on the islands run on 100% renewable fuel sources by 2045, and the state in 2018 committed itself to becoming carbon neutral by 2045.

SB 3311 itself does not set any deadlines for its clean- transportation goals, although more detailed plans are expected out of the working groups it would create.

The “interisland transportation working group” formed by the bill would develop benchmarks, metrics and plans to achieve those goals, while the “electric vehicle sales growth working group” would develop plans to ensure that enough charging stations are installed to support the growing use of electric vehicles in Hawaii.

Representatives from the state Department of Transportation and the Hawaii State Energy Office would chair the working groups, which also would include Hawaii’s mayors. Additionally, representatives from other stakeholders, such as airline, cruise line and automobile dealer and manufacturer industries, would be chosen by the chairs to also be part of the working groups.

Hawaii is heavily reliant on petroleum products, which in 2018 made up more than 84% of the state’s primary energy consumption, according to a 2020 report by the HSEO. That year, transportation accounted for more than 65% of the 44.6 million barrels of petroleum products used in the state.

One of the hopes of the bill is that it will foster a relationship between the state and private entities developing the necessary technology for cleaner transportation. Implementation of more and better charging stations, for example, would help electric vehicles become more accessible.

“We know that in Hawaii we pay among the highest cost of transportation in the country. Obviously, a lot of that is because of our dependence on imported fossil fuels. We know that shifting toward cleaner, cheaper sources … can help lower that cost of transportation significantly,” said Sen. Chris Lee (D, Hawaii Kai- Waimanalo-Kailua), who introduced the bill, at a Thursday news conference. “We’re looking forward to the next couple years of collaboration with a number of our local car companies, manufacturers, dealers, retailers, as well as our airlines and electric-aircraft manufacturers.”

House Speaker Scott Saiki (D, Downtown- Kakaako- McCully) said at the news conference that the state Legislature has for years worked to promote technologies like photovoltaic panels for Hawaii’s renewable- electricity needs, “and everyone knew that the next point would be in transportation.”

Josh Stanbro, a policy fellow with the nonprofit Elemental Excelerator, which invests in technology that battles climate change, said fuel-cleaning technology for long flights and hybrid batteries for short, interisland flights are among the projects that could help reduce the transportation-related emission of greenhouse gases.

“We’ve got over 140 companies that Elemental Excelerator has invested in, over 40 projects in the ground in Hawaii that actually make that clean climate tech,” Stanbro said at the news conference. “What we’re trying to do is support the entrepreneurs and the innovators that are going to make that clean-energy transformation happen.”