The governor’s office recently issued a news release announcing the formation of a Climate Advisory Team (CAT) that is “dedicated to tackling the challenges of climate disasters.” CAT will play a “crucial role in drafting comprehensive climate-resilience policy.”
Climate-resilience, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, “is about successfully coping with and managing the impacts of climate change while preventing those impacts from growing worse. A climate resilient society would be low-carbon and equipped to deal with the realities of a warmer world.”
One of those realities was the Lahaina wildfire, which informs us that climate risks are inescapable.
Charged with developing climate-resilience policy, the CAT is responsible for two major areas: managing the destructive impacts of climate change; and getting to the source of that destruction — climate change itself.
Climate change is a global phenomenon, so Hawaii and the rest of the world must drastically reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in order to avert a climate catastrophe.
Environmental advocates locally are encouraged by the CAT because they have been stymied in passing significant climate legislation. Regrettably, the fossil fuel industry has quashed most of the local legislation that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
At the federal level, the fossil fuel industry makes contributions of tens of millions of dollars annually to the campaigns of politicians. These recipients know which way they must vote to continue receiving these contributions.
The fossil fuel industry has been around for more than a hundred years, and it often relies on a strategy of false and misleading advertising to push its products. As a result, the general public believes that fossil fuels are less harmful than they actually are.
No wonder bills that reduce polluting emissions from fossil fuels have such a difficult time in Hawaii’s Legislature. Typically, a few minor climate bills get passed each session, but rarely does any legislation get passed that significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Yet science tells us that urgent action is needed. Moreover, everyone is now impacted by climate change. We are all being hit in our pocketbooks by climate disasters that are happening elsewhere in the world.
For example, droughts that are fueled by climate change have shocked agricultural production in many regions of our country and in other countries, as well. Droughts reduce the supply of agricultural products, causing food prices to rise. Hawaii imports about 85% of its food, so we are particularly vulnerable. And it’s only going to get worse, as climate disasters become more frequent and more extreme.
Climate change has also caused increases in homeowner insurance, supply chain disruptions for all sorts of products, and increases in the overall cost of living.
No wonder people want climate action. According to a recent survey, 77% of Americans believe that climate change poses a serious threat to humanity. Locally, a recent survey by the Ulupono Initiative indicates that 91% of respondents support expanding renewable energy in the state.
Hopefully, the CAT will have enough clout to get the state Legislature to pass “big idea” legislation that significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
The only such bill to be introduced in recent years has been carbon cashback, but it has not been passed. Carbon cashback is a budget-neutral bill that would place a fee on pollution from fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and distribute the revenue in equal shares to people in a progressive manner.
The CAT should consider getting behind carbon cashback, while also coming up with its own “big idea” bills. The health of Hawaii and our planet — and the future of our children — depend on the CAT’s success.
John Kawamoto is a former legislative analyst and an advocate for the environment.
