Hawaiʻi agrees to historic youth climate settlement

After a settle agreement on Thursday, the State of Hawaiʻi will now recognize its young people’s constitutional right to a life-sustaining climate. The settlement involves mobilizing the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) to develop a plan to decarbonize the state’s transportation system by 2045.

The lawsuit, Navahine F. v. Hawai’i Department of Transportation, was filed in 2022 by 13 young people who were between 9 to 18 years old. The plaintiffs accused HDOT of violating their constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment” by being “a major and increasing contributor” to the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Transportation sources — including aviation, ground, marine and military — make up the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state, generating 48% of emissions in Hawaiʻi, compared to about 30% for the rest of the nation.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., joined the youth plaintiffs, Our Children’s Trust and Earthjustice on Thursday in announcing the resolution of the constitutional climate case. “The passion demonstrated by these young people in advocating for a healthy, sustainable future for their generation and those to come, is laudable,” said Green.

Many of the Navahine plaintiffs are Native Hawaiian youth who have experienced climate disasters such as the 2023 Maui Fire and the 2018 Kauaʻi Flood, caused by a rain event that set a new national 24-hour precipitation total.

Lead plaintiff Navahine F., described the settlement agreement as “historic,” saying that “we got what we came for, and we got it faster than we expected. Mai kuhihewa [Make no mistake] young people have the power to make a difference for their futures.”

Navahine F. v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation is the world’s first youth-led constitutional climate case seeking to address climate pollution from the transportation sector.

The agreement also includes numerous provisions for immediate and ongoing action steps by HDOT. These include, for example: 

• Establishing a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan within one year of the agreement, laying the foundation and roadmap to decarbonize Hawaiʻi’s transportation system within the next 20 years.
• Creating a lead unit and responsible positions within HDOT to coordinate the mission of GHG reduction throughout the agency; oversee climate change mitigation and adaptation for the highways program; and ensure implementation of the Complete Streets policy of building and upgrading public highways for all users, ages, and abilities.
• Establishing a volunteer youth council to advise on HDOT mitigation and adaptation commitments in the years to come.
• Improving the state transportation infrastructure budgeting process to prioritize reduction of GHG and vehicles miles traveled (VMT) and transparently analyze and disclose the GHG and VMT impacts of each project and the overall program.
• Making immediate, ambitious investments in clean transportation infrastructure, including completing the pedestrian, bicycle, and transit networks in five years, and dedicating a minimum of $40 million to expanding the public electric vehicle charging network by 2030.

“Today’s settlement shows that the state and HDOT are truly committed to transformative action to reduce our transportation emissions before it’s too late. This new partnership puts climate action in the fast lane towards a more just and equitable future,” said Leinā‘ala Ley, an attorney with Earthjustice and co-counsel representing Navahine and her 12 fellow youth plaintiffs.

Hawai‘i State Environmental Court Judge John Tonaki formally accepted the settlement on Thursday, which means the trial that was scheduled to begin on Monday will not proceed. The parties agreed the court will maintain continuing jurisdiction over their agreement for purposes of resolving any disputes relating to the implementation of the agreement.