Blue Planet Foundation Releases Clean Energy Policy Package to Revitalize Hawaii’s Future

High-Resolution Video and Images Available Here

HONOLULU (Feb. 11, 2021)—With the 2021 legislative session now underway, Blue Planet Foundation is leading Hawaii’s transition to 100% clean energy with advocacy for bold policies that foster economic growth, create new jobs, increase state revenue, and address climate change. Blue Planet’s legislative agenda this year expands on the clean energy and climate nonprofit’s Waypoints report (available at waypointshawaii.org), which outlines 50 actionable policies and programs that can guide Hawaii’s recovery from the pandemic through an equity, resilience, and climate lens.

“The disruption wrought by the pandemic has exposed the fragility of our economy and, in many ways, our way of life,” said Melissa Miyashiro, managing director of strategy and policy at Blue Planet Foundation. “This disruption has also magnified underlying problems, such as disproportionate access to resources, our dependency on forces beyond our control, systemic injustice, and human vulnerability. As we are confronted with tough choices about how best to proceed, we hope Hawaii’s lawmakers will seize this unparalleled opportunity to reimagine what is possible for our state and our collective future rather than reverting back to business as usual.”

During the 2021 legislative session, Blue Planet is prioritizing a portfolio of policy solutions featured in Waypoints to accelerate our transition to a carbon-free economy. The following measures seek to significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring that everyone benefits from the transition to a cleaner, more resilient future:

• Adopt a meaningful price on carbon with a climate dividend or tax credit to local residents and families most in need (HB 1319, SB 311, SB 546)
• Require electric vehicle rental car fleets and tour buses (HB 1141, SB 768, SB 774)
• Expand green financing options to provide affordable access to clean energy for low- and moderate-income residents (HB 558, SB 932)
• Require Hawaii-specific energy cost labeling for large household appliances (HB 555, HB 603)
• Establish a “feebate” program to fund Hawaii’s transition to an equitable clean transportation future through a fee on luxury gas cars (HB 1142, SB 1309)
• Require that all new parking stalls be wired for EV chargers (HB 1140, SB 773)
• Boost the effectiveness of existing EV charger requirements for large parking lots (HB 803, SB 756)
• Require that new single-family homes come equipped with rooftop solar (HB 860)
• Streamline the process for timely adoption of building energy codes (HB 556)
• Establish a standard requiring that 100% of gas sold by gas utility companies in the state be renewable or clean hydrogen (HB 1143, SB 530)

Beyond these Waypoints actions, Blue Planet is tracking various other measures related to renewable energy, climate action, clean transportation, and energy efficiency. For example, since 2016, Blue Planet has advocated for setting an expiration date on using fossil fuels in Hawai‘i’s ground transportation sector, which is another policy the nonprofit is supporting this legislative session (HB 393, SB 500). While Hawaii has made substantial progress on policies, programs, and actions to reduce burning fossil fuels in the electricity sector, we are falling short on decarbonizing our ground transportation sector.

“Unfortunately, COVID does not make our climate crisis disappear,” added Miyashiro. “But we can be smart about how we recover, and lawmakers have an opportunity to solve multiple systemic challenges together. Economic prosperity and decarbonization are not mutually exclusive. The path forward requires creativity and bold leadership.”

For more information about Blue Planet’s policy priorities, please visit blueplanetfoundation.org/2021-legislative-priorities.