Hawaiʻi’s keiki take the state to court to secure their climate future
by Kawenaʻulaokalani, plaintiff, Navahine F. v Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation | Reading time: 2 minutes
Photo: Elwen Freitas
Aloha mai! ʻO au ʻo Kawenaʻulaokalani, he kaikamahine e piha ai ka makahiki he ʻumi. Noho au ma Hilo, akā mai Oʻahu mai au. ʻO wau kekahi o nā keiki e noi nei i luna kānāwai e kauoha i ka Mokuʻāina o Hawaiʻi e mālama i ke kuleana e pili ana i ka loli ʻana o ke aniau.
Ma ka lā 26 o Ianuali MH 2023, ua ʻākoakoa no kekahi ʻaha hoʻokolokolo. ʻO ka luna kānāwai ʻo Crabtree. Ua nui nā poʻe i hiki mai i ka ʻaha. ʻO kekahi o nā poʻe kekahi papa mai Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Pūʻōhala. Ua ʻae kekahi mau keiki e noho ma ka wahi maʻamau e noho ke kiule. Hoʻomaopopo au i ka pono o ke kū ʻana i ka wā i komo a haʻalele ai ka luna kānāwai.
Ma hope o ka ‘aha ua puka i kekahi ʻaoʻao o ka hale hoʻokolokolo kokoke i nā alanui ʻo Punchbowl a me Halekauwila no kekahi ʻaha me nā poʻe nūhou. A laila ua hui kekahi ma waho o kekahi keʻena o ka ʻOihana Alakau o ka Mokuʻāina e hāpai pelaha a peʻahi aku i nā poʻe e kalaiwa ana kokoke i laila.
Mahalo iā Our Children’s Trust a me Earthjustice no ke kākoʻo a ka hāpai ʻana i kēia kuleana no nā keiki.
Aloha! My name is Kawenaʻulaokalani and I am 10 years old. I live in Hilo, but am originally from Oʻahu. I am one of the youth plaintiffs asking the State of Hawaiʻi to uphold its trust obligations to address climate change.
Photo: Elwen Freitas
On January 26, 2023, we went to a court hearing. The name of our judge is Judge Crabtree. There were a lot of people attending the hearing. Some were students from the Hawaiian immersion school at Pūʻōhala. Some of the students were able to sit in the jury box to watch the hearing. I also remember needing to stand up and sit down when the judge entered and exited the courtroom.
After the hearing, we gathered outside of the courthouse near the corner of Punchbowl and Halekauwila for a press conference. After the press conference we went outside of the State Department of Transportationʻs office to hold signs and wave at passersby.
Thank you to Our Children’s Trust and Earthjustice for taking on this task and support us.
More about Navahine F. v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation
On June 1, 2022, 14 youth in Hawaiʻi filed a constitutional climate lawsuit, Navahine F. v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, against the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT), HDOT Director Jade Butay, Governor David Ige, and the State of Hawaiʻi. The youth plaintiffs claim that their state DOT’s operation of a transportation system that results in high levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions violates their state constitutional rights, causing them significant harm and impacting their ability to “live healthful lives in Hawaiʻi now and into the future.” The youth seek to ensure HDOT steps up to meet the state legislature’s goal to decarbonize Hawaiʻi’s economy and achieve a zero-emissions economy by 2045.
Hawaiʻi’s Climate Keiki
Last September, the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi hosted a virtual discussion with three of the keiki plaintiffs in Navahine F. v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation. You can watch the recording of the discussion here to hear from the keiki on why they joined this lawsuit, how the climate crisis has impacted their lives, what they are doing in and outside of the lawsuit, to mālama ʻāina, their communities, themselves, and more.