Public Input Sought for City’s First Climate Adaptation Strategy, “Climate Ready Oʻahu”
News Release from City and County of Honolulu, Nov 2, 2023
OʻAHU – The City and County of Honolulu on Wednesday released a draft of its first ever climate adaptation strategy, called “Climate Ready Oʻahu,” and the City’s Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency (CCSR) is asking Oʻahu residents to weigh in on the plan by visiting climatereadyoahu.org.
In a continuation of the extensive community engagement that occurred during the development of the draft strategy, CCSR looks forward to reconnecting with community members during a variety of events this November to re-orient members of the public to the strategy and encourage comments on the draft. Comments will be accepted through December 1, 2023.
Climate adaptation means proactively preparing for and adapting to the impacts of our changing climate.
“The impacts of climate change here on Oʻahu cannot be denied, affecting both residents and businesses and including everything from a house falling into the ocean to serious infrastructure damages from flooding around the island,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “We continue to focus on the need to eliminate greenhouse gas pollution while also accelerating our adaptation efforts.
“Climate Ready Oʻahu identifies long-term solutions and highlights efforts already underway when it comes to our climate preparedness,” the mayor added.
Climate Ready Oʻahu focuses on five main local climate hazards and outlines a vision for a climate-ready future consisting of broad adaptation strategies and complementary actions for implementation, including actions you can take to empower individual and community preparedness.
The Resilience Office is engaging in fifteen islandwide programs in the first half of November, including tabling at farmers markets and a community fair, speaking at local conferences, and hosting both an in-person open house and three virtual open houses. Details and registration information for any of the three virtual open houses can be found at climatereadyoahu.org/participate. All three virtual programs offer the same content and a recording will be posted after the final session.
Date Time Location
November 2 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Kailua Farmers Market
November 4 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Kaimukī High School Craft Fair
November 5 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Windward Mall Farmers Market
November 6 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. Virtual Open Houses
November 7 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. Virtual Open House
November 7 2 p.m. – 7 p.m. Waialua Market
November 8 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Blaisdell Farmers Market
November 9 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. World Town Planning Day, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
November 11 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. Pearlridge Farmers Market
November 12 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. Mililani Farmers Market
November 13 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. Hauʻula Community Center Open House
November 14 7:00 a.m. – 12 p.m. Protect Our Water Conference, Hawai‘i Convention Center (conference registration required)
November 15 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. Ka Makana Aliʻi Farmers Market
November 18 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. Mākeke Waiʻanae
“Community participation and ownership have been integral to this strategy’s development. The events this November conclude our seventh round of community engagement,” said Alexander Yee, coastal and water program manager for the Resilience Office and project lead. “Climate adaptation is too big a task for the City to tackle alone—it’s important to us that Climate Ready Oʻahu helps people understand how they can be part of the solution.”
Climate Ready Oʻahu accompanies the City’s other community-driven climate resilience efforts, including the Resilience Strategy, Climate Action Plan, and in-development Long-Term Disaster Recovery Plan.
—PAU—
CB: Honolulu Officials Release A Draft Of The City's Strategy To Adapt To Climate Change
Big Q: What do you think of the Climate Ready Oahu initiative?
SA: Editorial: Help get Oahu ready for climate-change policies | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)