Hawaii reaches "historic" settlement in youth climate case June 22, 2024

An aerial image shows the Old Lahaina Center and Foodland Lahaina amidst destroyed homes and businesses along Front Street, totally burned in historic Lahaina, after the West Maui wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii (Patrick T. Fallon)

By AFP -Agence France Presse

Hawaii reaches "historic" settlement in youth climate case

The US state of Hawaii has reached a historic settlement in response to litigation by young activists, promising to accelerate the decarbonization of its transportation sector to protect its right to a safe and healthy climate.

Thirteen young people from across the islands filed the lawsuit in June 2022, arguing that their constitutional rights to a life-sustaining climate were being violated. They asked the state government to take steps to implement its net negative emissions targets in the transportation system by 2045.

"The passion shown by these young people in advocating for a healthy and sustainable future for their generation and those to come is commendable," Governor Josh Green said in a statement issued Thursday after the two sides reached an agreement.

"This agreement informs how we, as a state, can best move forward to achieve life-sustaining goals, and beyond that, we can certainly look forward to seeing these and other young Hawaiians continue to strive to build the kind of future they want."

The settlement was announced just days before the case was set to go to trial on Monday, with the youths represented by attorneys from the non-profit organizations Earthjustice and Our Children's Trust.

Navahine v. Hawaii Department of Transportation (DOT) was the world's first youth-led constitutional climate case seeking to address climate pollution from the transportation sector.

Many of the plaintiffs were Native Hawaiian youth who were experiencing harm from climate change, including rising sea levels, droughts, floods, and wildfires, that threatened their lives and their ability to carry out cultural practices, such as growing the karo plant, fishing, and gathering.

Under the agreement, the Hawaii DOT will be required to take steps that include establishing a greenhouse gas reduction plan within a year and making ambitious investments in clean transportation infrastructure, including completing pedestrian, bicycle, and transit networks within five years.

A minimum of $40 million will be dedicated to expanding the public electric vehicle charging network by 2030, while the department's budget process will prioritize greenhouse gas reduction and a council of young volunteers will advise the department on its climate commitments.

"I'm very proud of all the hard work that led us to this historic moment," said young plaintiff Navahine F.

"We got what we wanted and we got it faster than we expected. Mai kuhihewa (make no mistake), young people have the power to make a difference in their future."

Last August, a court in the US state of Montana ruled in favor of a group of young people who accused the state of violating their rights to a clean environment.

However, another high-profile lawsuit filed by a group of California children, who claimed that the US federal government was harming them by failing to curb pollution, was rejected by a judge in May this year.

ia/dw