Lawsuit Settlement will Impose ‘Big Expense’ on Your ‘fuel, groceries, and airfare’
Star-Adv June 26, 2025: … The Hawaii Department of Transportation has a draft plan to largely eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from ground, air and ocean transportation vehicles in the state by 2045.
HDOT Director Ed Sniffen shared highlights of the draft with a panel of state lawmakers Wednesday, drawing praise and encouragement mixed with concerns over cost.
Implementing the plan will involve a big expense, which has yet to be estimated but is expected to add to what residents pay for fuel, groceries, airfare and other things….
The biggest and costliest piece of the plan is establishing clean fuel requirements for all types of transportation vehicles, including cars, passenger jets and cargo ships….
(TRANSLATION: Move to Vegas.)
Producing the plan by June 20 was required as part of a June 2024 settlement of a climate impact lawsuit filed against the state in 2022 by about a dozen Hawaii youth.
(New administrative law being written via a ‘sue-and-settle’ scheme.)
Isaac Moriwake, a local attorney with the environmental law firm Earthjustice involved in the litigation, also participated in Wednesday’s presentation and called the settlement a “path-breaking” agreement to address the biggest sector in Hawaii’s economy adding climate-changing greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
As part of the settlement, there will be court oversight and collaboration with a 20-member local youth transportation council that includes five plaintiffs to help ensure HDOT reaches a target set by the Legislature in 2018 to achieve net-negative greenhouse gas emissions in Hawaii’s transportation system by 2045….
(Anybody who identifies a specific weather effect as proof of ‘climate change’ s a fraud. Now these fraudsters are setting policy.)
Another element in the plan is to estimate greenhouse gas emissions for every HDOT ground transportation project, including road widening and repair.
“No other state is doing this,” Sniffen said.
The single biggest greenhouse gas emissions change under HDOT’s plan is to come from imposing a clean fuels standard for air, ocean and ground transportation vehicles.
Such fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel for planes, liquefied natural gas for ships and lower-carbon fuels for vehicles on Hawaii roads will result in higher costs for industries and consumers, according to Sniffen, which elicited concerns from some lawmakers.
“I’m all for the decarbonization of Hawaii, but … you are asking folks to move towards a green infrastructure who don’t have green,” said Rep. Darius Kila (D, Nanakuli-Maili), referring to the color of paper money.
“I live in one of the most transportation-impacted areas in the state where work is not where we live, and everything is exacerbated based off of cost, and that’s just rural Oahu. I don’t even want to talk about neighbor island costs,” continued Kila, who chairs the House Transportation Committee. “I know what we’re trying to accomplish, but … you’re asking folks to almost bend to a capacity that they don’t have.”
HDOT intends to seek legislation to provide tax credits for airlines and ocean transportation firms to meet future Hawaii clean fuel standards while other potential incentives are envisioned for drivers throughout the state….
Read … Plan to cut Hawaii transportation emissions takes shape amid cost concerns | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Big Q: Do you support the state transportation systems’ push to eliminate most greenhouse gas by 2045? | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
CB: Lawmakers Worry Hawaiʻi's Emissions Goals Could Leave Some In The Dust - Honolulu Civil Beat
BACKGROUND:
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State Transportation Energy Security and Waste Reduction Plan goes live
News Release from Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, Jun 27, 2025
HONOLULU – The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) announces the release of Hawaiʻi’s first statewide Energy Security and Waste Reduction Plan, a bold roadmap to reduce transportation emissions and expand affordable transportation options for all residents. The plan provides strategies for the transportation sector to achieve the state climate targets set in law – a 50% emissions reduction from 2005 levels by 2030, net negative transportation emissions by 2045 (meaning Hawaiʻi should capture more emissions than we produce), and ultimately zero transportation emissions.
“HDOT’s Energy Security Plan is a call to action,” said Ed Sniffen, director of the Hawaiʻi State Department of Transportation. “Together, we can create a transportation system that is cleaner and safer while fulfilling its purpose to connect our communities. The strategies outlined in this plan will help us build out the system for our future generations.”
The pillars of the plan are island energy security, affordability for kamaʻāina and emissions reduction. A sampling of strategies in the plan includes incentives for electric vehicles and cleaner fuels; the build out within five years of significant pedestrian, bicycle and transit projects so that people can chose transportation options other than single passenger vehicles, and immediate investment in carbon sequestration efforts such as native reforestation. The plan fulfills a commitment made by the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation under the youth-led Navahine Settlement Agreement that was reached in June 2024.
“Transportation impacts everyone in Hawaiʻi and we therefore encourage feedback and ask for partnership from industry, fellow agencies and the public, including Hawaiʻi’s youth,” said Sniffen. “Collective action across all sectors, public and private, will increase transportation choice, decrease costs for users of the system, and enable us to achieve these ambitious targets.”
The Draft Energy Security & Waste Reduction Plan and an online comment form is available at: https://highways.hidot.hawaii.gov/stories/s/h9gp-xxmt The plan will be updated annually to reflect new data, technology and community feedback.
“We appreciate HDOT working to implement the Navahine settlement and plan for the safer, cheaper and cleaner transportation system we need to protect the fundamental rights of our youth,” said Isaac Moriwake of Earthjustice, co-counsel for the Navahine youth plaintiffs. “This plan is meant to be a living document to map our way forward and we must all help to breathe life into this vision. Aʻohe hana nui ke alu ʻia: No task is too big if done by all.”
Hawaiʻi Youth Transportation Council Member Kawika Pegram reflected, “This plan is the catalyst for creating a future that all people can thrive in. Through this plan, we can harness the power of local industry, create meaningful jobs and invest in public infrastructure like never before.”
In mid- to late-July, HDOT will host a series of public presentations via videoconference. These public presentations will provide an opportunity for the public to learn more about the plan, ask questions and provide feedback. Dates and registration information for the public presentations will be available on HDOT’s website in early July.
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EE: Hawaii unveils emissions reduction plan in response to youth lawsuit - E&E News by POLITICO
IM: Hawaii Department of Transportation Published Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Study | Ililani Media