Maui Council committee to welcome experts on climate-change impacts

Council Member Gabe Johnson announced the Agriculture, Diversification, Environment and Public Transportation Committee will receive three presentations on climate-change impacts in a meeting Thursday, Oct. 9 at 9 a.m. in the Council Chamber and online.

“Imagine temperatures reaching 95 degrees Fahrenheit on the average day, rising seas causing sewers to flood so waste backs up into our streets, and our already parched, drought-stricken landscapes receiving 50% less rain,” said Johnson, who chairs the committee. “The August 2023 wildfires serve as a painful example of climate-change impacts—an indelible mark haunting Maui County for generations to come.”

Dr. Charles “Chip” Fletcher, dean of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, will speak on statewide and Maui County climate effects. Johnson said other presenters include Geos Institute’s Tonya Graham, Darla Palmer-Ellingson of 360 Green Living and Jennifer VanderVeur, grants specialist for the state Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission.

“The committee looks forward to hearing from these experts in the field of climate change,” said Johnson, who holds the seat for the Lānaʻi residency area. “Their knowledge is a reality check that climate change is real, our communities are already feeling its impacts, and climate-change trends will continue to worsen as federal and international targets and solutions are ignored and disregarded.”

Graham and Palmer-Ellingson will present on Geos Institute’s work on the county’s climate vulnerabilities. That work helped shape the resiliency strategies and actions in the county’s Climate Action and Resiliency Plan. Johnson introduced legislation in 2023 to codify the plan that resulted in Ordinance 5756.

VanderVeur is scheduled to discuss the Climate Commission’s work on the Draft Hawaiʻi Climate Action Pathways document.

“As our communities become less livable due to a changing climate, impacts ranging from more frequent natural disasters, disruption to food systems, declines in fishery stocks, and loss of ecosystems, biodiversity and cultural resources will become more deeply felt, making existing systemic inequities even starker,” said Johnson. “Our presenters will show how climate change is a ‘polycrisis’ with many interconnected dimensions that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations like young children, the elderly, Pacific Islanders, people with existing health conditions and the majority of our residents who are just barely getting by making unsustainable wages.”

Johnson noted Maui County recognized a climate emergency six years ago with the council’s adoption of Resolution 19-209. Two years later, with Johnson’s support in his first council term, Ordinance 5264 added “Mitigate Climate Change and Work Toward Resilience” as a goal of the Countywide Policy Plan.

“Our presenters will help identify priorities and next steps to protect our communities, and it will be up to us to utilize this expert guidance in our decision-making,” said Johnson. “I hope that these insights will help the committee and council center our actions around a sustainable relationship between land and people and empower the necessary transition away from an economy of extraction and profit for the privileged, which has led to the crises we are facing.”

The meeting will be live streamed on Akakū Channel 53, at MauiCounty.us and on the council’s Facebook and YouTube pages. For more information, call the Office of Council Services at 808-270-7664.