State lawmakers have passed a bill that formally commits Hawaii to eliminating greenhouse gas emissions across all forms of transportation, by moving away from oil-based fuel.

We fully support this goal, and applaud the approach of setting up working groups with private- and public-sector participation to help plan the transformation. Senate Bill 3311 now awaits the governor’s signature. We urge him to sign it.

Change is called for on two primary fronts: by transitioning to electric vehicles; and by cutting air flight emissions from interisland transportation.

Here the state is responding to a global call to reduce carbon emissions, which are acidifying oceans and changing the content of Earth’s atmosphere and its climate patterns as they warm the planet.

Electric buses serve as a showcase of what clean transportation can be. Recent studies show that over the lifetime of a vehicle, municipalities can save hundreds of thousands of dollars by cutting out the cost of fuel, and because electric vehicles are not as costly to maintain.

Even better, the price comparisons continue to improve as technology develops. Renewable energy costs have fallen dramatically in the last 10 years. In Hawaii, solar, wind and geothermal power now typically cost less than fossil fuels.

Electrification of transportation can be a win-win-win-win by connecting to renewable energy sources, reducing dependency on imported oil, eliminating greenhouse gas emissions and ultimately, costing less.

This saves taxpayers money even if they don’t ride an electric bus or battery-powered plane, or drive an electric vehicle.

Yes, we did say “battery-powered plane.” Here in Hawaii, the nonprofit Elemental Excelerator invests in technology that battles climate change, and policy fellow Josh Stanbro told the Star-Advertiser that fuel-cleaning technology for long flights and hybrid batteries for short, interisland flights are among projects that could help clear the air.

Meanwhile, it’s heartening that Hawaii consumers are turning to electric vehicles. Registrations of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles climbed to 10% of Hawaii’s total in the first quarter of 2022 — though numbers may be skewed by pandemic-related factors.

Consumers, of course, will pay attention to price, availability and convenience. As for convenience, installing more and better charging stations will help electric vehicles become more accessible. SB 3311 establishes an “electric vehicle sales growth working group” to create a strategy.

SB 2720, also on the governor’s desk and worthy of enactment, expands a rebate program to incentivize building more charging stations.

“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, who introduced SB 3311.

By collaborating with those in the automotive and airline industries, we can and must move toward these clean-energy goals.

Three other bills aim for progress on greenhouse gases, and should be signed by Gov. David Ige:

>> SB 3158 creates a rebate program for electric bicycles and electric mopeds, targeting low-income residents, students and those who do not own a vehicle.

>> HB 1801 requires state buildings over a certain size to perform cost-effective energy efficiency improvements.

>> HB 1800 sets a goal to reduce economywide emissions 50% from 2005 levels by 2030, and funds an analysis to identify actionable steps to reach that goal. This moves Hawaii closer to achieving a carbon negative economy by 2045, a goal set into law in 2018.