Hawaii’s Climate Change Adaptation Policy

As record temperatures and severe weather events are reported around the country, I am reminded of the work we did in 2011, which led to Hawaii’s climate change adaptation policy. Here is what I wrote about it when I was the director of the State Office of Planning in 2012:

Hawaii’s Climate Change Adaptation Policy

Act 234, Session Laws of?Hawaii?2007, established the state’s policy framework?and requirements to address Hawaii’s GHG emissions. In Act 234, the legislature?recognized the following:?“… climate change poses a serious threat to the economic well-being,?public health, natural resources, and the environment of Hawaii. The?potential adverse effects of global warming include a rise in sea levels?resulting in the displacement of businesses and residences and the?inundation of Hawaii’s freshwater aquifers, damage to marine ecosystems.”

The focus and general purpose of Act 234 was to achieve cost-effective GHG emissions?reductions at or below Hawaii’s GHG emissions estimates of 1990 by January 1, 2020.?However, even if GHG emissions are reduced to 1990 levels,?Hawaii?will still be?significantly impacted by climate change well into the future.

Hawaii?can best respond?to climate change by adapting to its impacts.?Adaptation involves adjusting our natural and built environments in response to actual or expected climate changes and its effects.??Act 20, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 2009, created a climate change task force to?address climate change adaptation.?The Act 20 task force was?not funded and did not convene.?By?operation of law, the Act 20 task force ceased to exist on June 30, 2011.

Despite these setbacks, the Office of Planning and its partners recognized the need to address climate change adaptation and the desire of the governor and the state legislature to address the issue.?As the lead agency of the Coastal Zone?Management (CZM) Program, the Office of Planning lead the?coordination?of a climate change?adaptation?policy for the?State?of Hawaii.

The Office relied upon existing authority under the CZM Act, which provides that “global warming may?result in a substantial sea level rise with serious adverse effects in the coastal zone,”?and that “coastal states must anticipate and plan for such an occurrence.”?See?16 U.S.C. § 1451.?In addition, the policy framework is?a “Priority Guideline” to the State Planning Act, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS)?chapter 226, which directs the Office to recommend planning-related policy to the governor and the legislature.

In August of 2011, with funding support from the Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Office held workshops to develop a climate change policy that would help Hawaii adjust to climate change so that we can moderate potential damage, take advantage of opportunities, and cope with the consequences.?These workshops are described in the following documents:

• ORMP Joint Planning Meeting Part 1: Visioning Hawai‘i’s Adaptation to Climate Change?(August 22-23, 2011)
• ORMP Joint Planning Meeting Part 2: Climate Change Alternative Futures Exercise?(August 22-23, 2011)

Based on these workshops,?Act 286 (2012), Climate Change Adaptation Priority?Guidelines, was passed by the legislature and signed into law by former Governor Neil Abercrombie.?Hawaii is one of few states in the nation to adopt a statewide climate adaptation policy for addressing the impacts of climate change (Press Release).

Act 286 is codified as?HRS § 226-109.?Because the policy is an amendment to the?Hawaii State Planning Act, all county and state actions must consider the policy in its land use, capital?improvement, and program decisions.

The Office of Planning is currently working with various stakeholders, primarily through the?Ocean Resources?Management Plan?(ORMP) program, to implement the policy.?The ORMP includes county, state, and federal stakeholders who implement public projects and programs.?The ORMP is a?coordinated?effort that includes input from the community, businesses, and non-profits?who contribute to and support these efforts.

Originally posted at https://planning.hawaii.gov/czm/initiatives/adapting-to-climate-change-2/.