Victory for All Declared in Hawai‘i’s Youth Climate Case
by Dyson Chee, Oʻahu Group Chair | Reading time: 3.25 minutes
Some of the Youth Plaintiffs savior their historic victory at a community celebration held on what would have been the first day of the 3-week trial. Photo: E. Butler, Earthjustice
We won! The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation and the youth plaintiffs in the Navahine youth climate lawsuit resolved the case late last month with a shared agreement that will get Hawai‘i’s ground, sea, and interisland air travel to zero emissions by 2045. So instead of going to trial on June 24, 2024, we had a huge community celebration on the grounds of ‘Iolani Palace.
Kaliko T., a plaintiff in the Navahine lawsuit, dances to Puamana performed here by Kamaha‘o. Kaliko’s family has lived in Lahaina for 19 generations. She lost her father’s home and her beloved town in the devastating 2023 wildfire, made worse by climate change and a 100 years of poor stream management practices. Photo: E. Butler, Earthjustice
Mahalo to the talented teams at Earthjustice and Our Children’s Trust for everything – the free tacos, the community networking, and of course the brilliant legal arguments. Thanks to their collective hard work, all of us will soon enjoy greater freedom and choice in how we get around in our islands. As Navahine herself said, “We got what we came for, and we got it faster than we expected. Mai kuhihewa young people have the power to make a difference for their futures.”
I also want to acknowledge the community groups that have been supporting the fight for climate justice all the way through. The dynamic duo – Sherry Pollack and Dave Mulinix – who have worked tirelessly as self-proclaimed “minions” of the movement through a wide range of organizations including 350.org Hawai‘i, Greenpeace Hawai‘i, and Our Revolution. The wonderful team of art healers at Wisdom Circles Oceania who help us all process the hardship of living through this moment of climate chaos and make beautiful visual displays of our love for this planet.
And of course all of the impressive young people working to find solutions through the Hawai‘i Youth Climate Coalition, Climate Futures Forum, and the many school-based climate programs. Confronting climate change is definitely the world’s biggest and most important group project, and I am so happy to be working with you all on it.
A portion of the many lawyers, plaintiffs, experts, and support staff at Earthjustice and Our Children’s Trust who worked on the Navahine lawsuit. Photo: E. Butler, Earthjustice
I think Kaliko T. said it best in her speech at the celebration. “Sometimes it can feel impossible because stopping the climate crisis means changing everything about the way we do things now. But our kupuna taught us ‘A‘ohe hana nui ke alu ‘ia… No task is too big when done together. So, I hope that young people all over the world see this victory and know that change is possible. We can live in harmony with the land once again. Please take action in your own kaiāulu – each of your communities – and join our movement to ensure everyone's fundamental right to a safe and livable climate.”
This settlement is historic on so many levels. The Navahine lawsuit was already historic because it is the first youth climate case to tackle emissions from the transportation sector. And now it is doubly historic because it ended in the first-ever settlement of a youth climate case. This settlement will span more than 20 years, maintain the court’s oversight the whole way through, and provide many opportunities for the public to have a say. Read the actual settlement here.
A joint press statement between the Green Administration and the Navahine team explained that this “agreement sets forth a framework that positions Hawai‘i among the leading states in the nation in moving from the legacy 20th-century transportation system that depends on costly imported fossil fuels, to a cleaner, cheaper, and safer system that supports converting to vehicles that run on clean electricity and gives people more choices to get around by walking, cycling/scootering, and riding public transit. This framework offers an exemplary and replicable model for decarbonizing transportation systems around the U.S., and the world.”
This victory is certainly huge, but how it plays out is still up to us and how we engage with HDOT going forward. There will be plenty of opportunities for the people of Hawai‘i to continue to be involved. Please make sure we have your up-to-date contact information, so we can keep you in the loop on the youth council and the new greenhouse gas reduction plan that HDOT will be releasing for public comment before next summer.