Hawaiʻi’s Climate Advisory Team (CAT) was convened by Governor Josh Green, M.D., to develop community-informed policy recommendations that drive the state’s climate-related disaster policies for the next legislative session in 2025.
CURRENT STATUS
Phase 1: Initial Fact Finding
In the initial fact-finding phase of our work, we are meeting with subject matter experts in areas that range from environmental justice, climate science, insurance markets, land stewardship, state agencies, and grassroots community advocates, to understand the unique aspects of the challenges we face and the policy solutions that can be achieved.
Our Recommendations
The Climate Advisory Team will make our findings and recommendations publicly available prior to the start of the 2025 legislative session. In the interim, we look forward to answering any questions you may have. Please send us your ideas, thoughts or inquiries.
The work of the CAT is forward-looking and focused on promoting resilience and recovery capabilities for our state.
We owe it to our community to do everything we can to reduce the impacts of climate-related disasters like the Maui wildfires, including the environmental, economic, and community fallout that come with them. The costs of this disaster - the precious lives lost, personal the emotional toll, the economic fallout - cannot be repeated. But the sobering fact is that the possibility of these kinds of climate-related disasters are part of our reality today.
We can take action to improve our environmental, infrastructure, and economic resilience, and promote policies that will speed recovery from climate-related natural disasters.
It is our responsibility as a state to proactively reduce the unmanageable costs of a future climate-related disaster. Designing these solutions through policy change is the goal of the Climate Advisory Team.
We cannot allow ourselves to be unprepared again the next time there’s a climate-related natural disaster. We must act at a legislative policy level to ensure the state is better able to respond.
