Climate Advisory Team unveils policy recommendations, hosting virtual presentation Friday

The Climate Advisory Team, established by Hawaiʻi Governor Josh Green, M.D., in May 2024, on Tuesday released its policy paper, including recommendations to inform the administration’s legislative priorities for the 2025 legislative session and beyond. The policy paper describes actions Hawaiʻi can take immediately while simultaneously building the foundation for long-term policies that will help Hawaiʻi survive and respond to future disasters.

“The research and recommendations of the [Climate Advisory Team] as presented in this paper should be a motivation to all of us to take serious, bold action on these issues during the 2025 legislative session,” said Gov. Green. “The magnitude of the work required is sobering, but the recommendations in this policy paper show us a clear path forward for a more disaster-resilient Hawaiʻi.”

Throughout the summer and fall of 2024, the Climate Advisory Team met with subject matter experts in climate science, insurance markets, land stewardship and environmental justice, as well as leadership of government agencies and grassroots community advocates. Climate Advisory Team members conducted extensive research to understand the unique challenges faced and glean insights into potential policy solutions; evaluate successful efforts applicable to Hawaiʻi’s resilience and disaster recovery needs; and gain insight into the interwoven challenges facing residents. 

This research informed the policy paper released Tuesday, which includes six primary findings and recommendations grouped into five major areas—financial commitment, government kuleana, thriving environment, community resilience and financial recovery. The Climate Advisory Team suggests various funding options to finance the policy recommendations and finds that near-term policy changes and financing approaches are essential starting points—a down payment on the full investment required to achieve a disaster-ready Hawaiʻi.

The Climate Advisory Team’s key findings include: 

• Seventy-one percent of respondents believe what happened in Lahaina could happen in their community, but only 39% think their community is prepared for a natural disaster.
• Events in Hawaiʻi and beyond show us that the frequency and severity of disasters is increasing. 
• The ongoing expected annual loss to all properties in Hawaiʻi due to hurricane, wildfire, flood and earthquake damage is $1.4 billion.
• Increasing risk from disasters will exacerbate Hawaiʻi’s cost-of-living crisis. 
• The growing crisis in the insurance market further exacerbates Hawaiʻi’s cost of living crisis.
• Hawaiʻi cannot afford to wait.

The policy paper includes fourteen actionable policy solutions for consideration by Gov. Green and the Hawaiʻi State Legislature. One of the top recommendations of the policy paper is to establish a permanent resilience office, to provide the necessary leadership and coordination of a strategic, integrated approach to improve Hawaiʻi’s resilience and preparedness for climate-related disasters.  

While some of the policy ideas can be implemented by executive action or by agency leadership, three of the recommendations require legislative involvement and will be advocacy priorities for the Climate Advisory Team during the 2025 session: 

• Establishing a new Hawaiʻi Climate Resilience Fund, which would provide financial support for environmental, infrastructure and community resilience projects.
• Ensuring disaster recovery funds will be available to provide financial assistance to the most vulnerable residents after disasters occur.
• Supporting, expanding and appropriately resourcing the Office of the State Fire Marshal and related programs like Firewise.

“Hawai‘i’s geographic isolation, aging infrastructure and increasing exposure to natural disasters mandate that resilience be among our highest priorities as a state. Failure to increase our focus and spending on disaster readiness will jeopardize lives and our economic viability,” said Chris Benjamin, the chair of the Climate Advisory Team. “Countless employees and volunteers at the state, county and community levels are devoted to resilience and we must provide the funding and coordination necessary to ensure their success.”

The policy paper is now available at www.hawaiiclimateadvisoryteam.org. The Climate Advisory Team welcomes comments from the public via the online portal at the link above and invites the public to learn more at a virtual presentation by the Climate Advisory Team members on Friday, Jan. 10, at 9:30 a.m. Visit www.hawaiiclimateadvisoryteam.org for more information and to pre-register for the webinar.