The Peace Boat, steered by a Japan-based organization with international objectives, arrived at Honolulu Harbor on Monday with Hawaii youth activists on board, along with 1,400 passengers who were invited to sign Hawaii’s “Pledge to Our Keiki,” committing to honor and protect Hawaii’s environment and people.

The time is right, as Earth undergoes its hottest period in the last 125,000 years, and unpredictable weather, including heat waves and hurricanes, threatens lives worldwide. Peace Boat goals are aligned with United Nations sustainability principles, as is the Keiki Pledge; to ignore these urgent calls for shared responsibility would be reckless.