Hawaii Gov. Josh Green Says Aloha to Decarbonization

Climate One

News, Social Sciences, News Commentary, Science, Earth Sciences

4.7 • 583 Ratings

🗓️ 20 March 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

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Summary

More than perhaps any other state, Hawaii has major incentives to decarbonize. Imported oil accounts for about 90% of Hawaii's total energy consumption, and electricity prices are more than three times the national average. So it may not be surprising that Hawaii was the first state in the nation to set a 100% renewable energy goal by 2045. But that’s a hard goal to achieve, especially given the realities of geographic isolation and the costs of importing fuel and materials. Hawaii Governor Josh Green is bullish about the island state’s decarbonization and wants all options on the table. That includes making liquified natural gas part of the mix, along with solar, wind, and geothermal. His administration passed the first “green fee” which imposes a tax on Hawaii visitors and is expected to generate $100 million for climate resilience projects. What can we learn from Hawaii’s decarbonization process? Guests: Josh Green, Governor of Hawaii Rylee Brooke Kamahele, Youth Plaintiff, Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Tessa M. Hill, Oceanographer and Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences, UC DavisFor show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org. Highlights: 00:00 Intro 03:08 Josh Green on achieving Hawaii’s climate goals 07:11 Josh Green on offshore wind 13:17 Josh Green on the effect of the wildfires and the recovery 18:09 Josh Green on decarbonizing 20:22 Josh Green on the health effects of the climate crisis 23:30 Rylee Brooke Kamahele on growing up 24:26 Rylee Brooke Kamahele on community action 29:06 Rylee Brooke Kamahele on the outcome of the lawsuit 34:27 Rylee Brooke Kamahele on the responsibility of older generations 37:55 Tessa M. Hill on rapidly changing oceans 41:43 Tessa M. Hill on the impact to common fish 44:44 Tessa M. Hill on the winners and losers of the changing oceans ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at patreon.com/ClimateOne. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Kushan Abadar.
0:02.3	I'm Ariana Brocious.
0:03.5	And this is Climate One.
0:07.7	When most people think of Hawaii, they picture turquoise water, palm trees, maybe a Mai Tai on the beach.
0:14.6	You know, paradise.
0:16.1	Yeah, a lot of people think of it like that.
0:18.1	But for the people who actually live there, island living is both beautiful
0:22.3	and poses a lot of real significant challenges.
0:25.6	Here's one.
0:26.6	Hawaii has been one of the hardest places in the country
0:30.1	to get and to store energy.
0:32.6	Right.
0:33.3	Hawaii can't just pipe in methane gas
0:35.6	or plug into a big regional power grid.
0:38.2	For decades, it's relied heavily on imported oil to keep the lights on.
0:42.4	That makes its electricity the most expensive in the country.
0:46.5	On top of that, Hawaii is facing lots of different impacts from climate disruption.
0:51.2	I'm thinking about the 2023 Lahaina wildfire on the island of Maui.
0:56.0	It was the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century. It was driven by high
1:00.7	temperatures, drought conditions, and really high winds from a category four storm. The state has a
1:06.3	real interest in becoming climate resilient.
1:10.9	Hawaii was the first state to set itself the ambitious goal of reaching 100% renewable energy
	...

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