Honolulu’s first-ever climate adaptation strategy, “Climate Ready O‘ahu,” is being rolled out to the public this month in draft form. Public attention and input is urgently necessary, because Oahu and its residents are certainly not “climate ready” today.

The plan presents five categories of impact that climate change will have on this island, and that we must be prepared for: sea level rise; increased, sustained heat; drought; flash flooding; and hurricanes.

The city is making an extensive effort to get this information out to residents in all parts of the island, rightly so, because it’s of utmost importance that we not be complacent about these impacts. One need look no further than Lahaina, which on Aug. 8 suffered the deadliest wildfire to strike within the United States in over a century, for an extreme example of disaster magnified by heat, drought and hurricane. Or consider the historic rains of 2019, causing a landslide that closed the Pali Highway for months; or the intense flooding in Haleiwa in 2021, damaging 65 homes.

While it’s a first as a strategy document, the draft plan builds on years of effort and multiple studies warning of a future that, by some standards, is now upon us — with heat waves, reduced trade winds, shrinking habitats for native species and dying reefs, all affected by global warming. The plan is administered by Honolulu’s Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency (CCSR), established by voters via a City Charter amendment in 2016.

With this plan, the City and County of Honolulu is seeking to coax residents to peer further into a future that will challenge us in new ways, requiring unprecedented action to keep island residents safe. And beyond safe, functional: able to remain sheltered, sustain farming and ranching capacity, produce and use energy, and preserve and nurture prized ecosystems, mauka to makai.

As is clearly necessary, the city is now preparing to act — to prepare for and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. An equally necessary step is two-way communication with island residents, both educating and seeking feedback.

While federal aid and technological developments will play large roles, local stakeholders are responsible for setting priorities, allocating spending and keeping government accountable for carrying out mitigation and adaptation plans efficiently and responsibly. This plan provides a path to involvement.

The Climate Ready O‘ahu draft plan encompasses 12 overarching adaptation strategies and 57 actions — specific policies or programs for a climate-ready future. It begins with the first building block: increasing public understanding, something the document itself is designed to do. Another strategy is to take a community-based approach to resolving issues — so that, for example, Leeward communities vulnerable to high heat, drought and wildfire are identified and prioritized for prevention efforts.

The strategies complement parallel city priorities, such as Honolulu’s continued effort to reduce, then eliminate emission of heat-trapping gases. Zero-emission transportation, the use of clean energy and waste reduction are all encouraged.

The plan presents actions based on three very broad categories: people; aina (land/environment); and infrastructure. An advantage of this approach is that any one contributor whose primary interest lies within one of these categories can focus their attention on that discussion and action plan.

If one’s interest is in community involvement, Native Hawaiian cultural practices or equity for underserved communities (“people”), the draft plan incorporates these subjects. “Aina” action items have been formulated to address the resilience of beach and wetland ecosystems, up to and including the necessity of cesspool conversions islandwide. Urban planning and resilience (“infrastructure”) is addressed, with suggestions ranging from solar panels over parking lots to investment pools to fund adaptations.

A climate-readiness plan for the island cannot truly be successful without substantial buy-in — and this is where civic responsibility must play a part. It could hardly be simpler to comment on “Climate Ready O’ahu”: With a computer and internet connection, simply go to climatereadyoahu.org and click on any segment of the document, bringing up a pop-up dialogue box, then type in your say.

CCSR is holding a series of in-person and virtual events this month to present the draft strategy and encourage comments, which will be accepted through Dec. 1. Four in-person events take place in the coming week: today, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., at Windward Mall Farmers Market; Tuesday, 2–7 p.m., at Waialua Market; Wednesday, 4–7 p.m., at Blaisdell Farmers Market; Thursday, 5:30–8 p.m., at World Town Planning Day, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Find more events and details at climatereadyoahu.org/participate.

Involvement today could be vital to Oahu’s environmental road map into the future.