Tell us about the Oahu Community Climate Fair on May 20, presented by the Commission.

The fair will take place 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the state Capitol grounds. The event is free, and we will have a raffle with climate-friendly prizes, including a new bike for first prize! The fair is all about empowering people to take action on climate change. Through interactive games, activities and mini workshops, our hope is that folks walk away feeling confident they are capable of taking climate action. Climate change impacts every aspect of our life, our food, water, the air we breathe, our health, our homes — everything. This is an opportunity for state and county agencies, universities and nonprofits to showcase the action they are taking and share knowledge and know-how.

You are approaching one year as the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission’s coordinator. What are your priorities?

There is so much that needs to be done. In Punaluu, we’re working with the community to find a solution to restore the shoreline. We support nature-based solutions, using “green-blue” approaches: for example, protecting native forests, lo‘i, urban trees, loko i‘a and living shorelines to address climate impacts while at the same time advancing human well-being by shoring up food and water security, and supporting biodiversity.

Promoting climate-smart agriculture and circular food systems is another example. Climate-smart agriculture means taking care of the soil to create resilient food and forestry systems that also support biodiversity and local nutrition needs.

Building our capacity to better engage with communities, including expanding our work on environmental justice is a focus. We are not just trying to stop climate change from happening; we are working toward systematic shifts that lift communities as we build a cleaner, more resilient Hawaii.

Are there any hurdles you’ve come across that are harder to leap than anticipated?

Communicating the extreme urgency of taking action on climate change in a way that spurs action and not fear is a huge challenge. We have already lost homes to sea level rise, wildfires have ravaged our forests, floods have disconnected communities from essential services, and extreme heat is going to have serious impacts on our health, especially for our keiki and kupuna. It can be overwhelming, especially when we have other issues to address, such as education and the housing crisis.

But it doesn’t have to be one or the other: We can build a resilient economy while supporting green infrastructure; build up local food production while restoring soil health; improve transportation services and build fewer roads; integrate traditional knowledge into our actions while advancing our technological capacities. We need systemic change now, and investing in climate action will pay dividends in the future.

The Hawaii State Climate Commission is a sponsor of Hawaii Climate Week, which this year included, for the first time, a Hawaii Youth Climate Action Summit, along with the commission’s annual conference. What was achieved?

Hawaii Climate Week clearly outlined that we have all the tools to take climate action: We just need the resources. I love how candid our youth panel was, calling for action on all fronts. Hawaii Climate Week sessions built stronger coalitions between science, policy and advocacy groups, and highlighted what can happen when we all work together.

You helped lead the effort to bring the World Conservation Congress in Honolulu in 2016. There, then-Gov. David Ige launched the state’s ambitious Sustainable Hawaii Initiative. What’s your take on Hawaii’s progress?

Hawaii has been a leader in climate change. We have set ambitious goals and inspired action across the globe. We have met our 2020 clean energy goals and are on track to meet our 30×30 watershed goals. But the latest state Greenhouse Gas Inventory shows that we are not on track to reach our net negative carbon goal by 2045. The state’s decarbonization plan is due to the Legislature at the end of this year, and it will outline exactly what we need to do to reach those goals. My hope is that we fund these actions, so we can continue to be a leader into the future.

But we don’t have to wait. We know where we can take action: through increasing transportation choices and reducing carbon emissions; by converting cesspools to reduce methane emissions and sewage leaks into our oceans; protecting our forested watersheds to lock in carbon and ensure we have water security long into the future; invest in local food systems to boost the economy and food security; electrify everything; increase clean energy production and make it more efficient. We might not have all the answers, but progression, not perfection, is the way we will create a climate-ready Hawaii.