Committee to review Maui County’s first climate plan

The Efficiency Solutions and Circular Systems Committee will meet on Nov. 18 at 1:30 p.m. with the goal of recommending passage of a bill to establish the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan for Maui County, according to Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez.

Rawlins-Fernandez said the purpose of Bill 136, CD1 (2024) is to ensure the plan guides policy and actions taken by the county to mitigate and adapt to climate-change effects, transition to 100% renewable energy and achieve net-negative emissions.

“It has been two years since the Office of Climate Change, Resiliency and Sustainability worked with a committee of community members to draft the proposed CARP, and we have been missing out on federal funding by not having a plan in place, like all our sister counties have,” said Rawlins-Fernandez, who chairs the ESCS Committee. “It’s embarrassing that Maui County is the only county without a plan, so I encourage everyone to prepare their feedback on the proposed bill and the CARP to discuss and be ready to take action on Monday.”

The proposed 152-page plan is available online: https://tinyurl.com/MauiCountyCARP

The meeting will be on Zoom and in the Planning Department Conference Room at 250 S. High St. In-person, online and phone testimony is welcome.

Testimony instructions are on the meeting agenda, which will be available at mauicounty.us/agendas. For more information, contact committee staff at ESCS.Committee@mauicounty.us or 808-270-7140.