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HAWAII CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION COMMISSION

Coordinator’s Letter: December 2021

Aloha <<First Name>>,

Kākou—it has been a busy and productive month, but this would not have been possible without your partnership. Thank you for all you do for climate action in Hawai‘i!

HAWAI‘I IS ALL IN AS A CLIMATE LEADER AT COP26

Governor David Ige lead a delegation to Glasgow, Scotland for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting (COP26) in November. Several state and county leaders, UH professors and students, and community leaders from Hawai‘i attended in full force as well.

Hawai‘i was the first state to declare a climate emergency. At COP26, it conveyed a strong message that the world must move beyond zero to meaningfully tackle climate impacts.

Check out our panels and speaking events on our Webinars page. Also check out our HI News page for press releases and articles on Hawai‘i’s presence at COP26!

NEW AMERICORPS VISTAS FOR THE NEXT YEAR

The Commission has been awarded a continuing grant from AmeriCorps to fund more VISTA members across several offices at the State and counties. Stay tuned for more details on the second Climate Ready Hawai‘i VISTA cohort which started this month!

Sadly, we said goodbye to our first-ever Climate Ready Hawai‘i VISTA cohort members as they reached the end of their service term this month. Watch them present their work to the Commission on the Climate Coordinator’s YouTube channel.

OUR NEW VEHICLE MILES TRAVELLED / ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION SPECIALIST: KIANA OTSUKA

Please welcome our new Vehicle Miles Travelled/Active Transportation Specialist, Kiana Otsuka, based at the HSEO! The position is funded through a two-year grant from the U.S. Climate Alliance and was created in collaboration with the State Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission.

Under the guidance of HSEO and the Hawai’i Climate Commission, Kiana will be working with communities to help save energy by doing more walking, biking, and using public transportation as well as helping the state shift to more EVs.

Please welcome Kiana in her new and exciting role!

2021 ANNUAL REPORT IS OUT!

HĀ O KE KAI COLLECTION CONTINUES TO HOST IMPORTANT CLIMATE CONVERSATIONS

Our end-of-the-year Annual Report highlights all the progress we have made this past year—from our new statement on guidance for investment in resilient infrastructure to our HI Impact Actions reported at COP26, and more! This is an update of the Report to the legislature.

In partnership with UH’s Better Tomorrow Speaker Series, we continue to bring the latest climate science and policy work to Hawaii, and foster conversations between speakers and our community leaders.

Our latest speaker, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State and Director of the Earth System Science Center Dr. Michael Mann summarized the latest IPCC report and the opportunity to act, as well as our fight against the climate crisis. Watch the recording at the UH Speaker Series’ YouTube channel.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE NEXT ONE on January 13th, 2022!

Our next speaker, Tina Eonemto Stege, is Climate Envoy for the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Born in Saipan, raised on Kwajalein and Majuro, and educated in Honolulu, she brings a Pacific focus to her community-based work on a range of issues, from the impacts of nuclear testing to sustainable development and climate adaptation. Stege received her BA from Princeton University and her M.A. in Anthropology from the Université d’Aix-en-Provence.

The collection of climate change events, titled Hā O Ke Kai, meaning “Breath of the Sea,” is paired with the Commission’s statewide conference series of the same name.

More about our speakers

HI NEWS RECAP

Check out our HI News for press releases and articles related to Hawai‘i’s presence at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).

Check out HI NEWS here

FOR YOUR INTEREST…

  • Check out the equity work we are doing in our new “HI Equity” Tab on our website.

  • Our Climate Legislation page highlights climate-related legislation that was passed in Hawaii since 2018!

COMMISSION MEETING MATERIALS

Commission meeting materials from our November 1, 2021 meeting and all past meetings are now available on our website. See you at the next meeting of the Commission on April 6, 2022! Commission meeting dates are available on our website under the Climate Commission tab.

Stay updated on our social media accounts below.

I wish everyone a safe holiday season! A hui hou till 2022!

Your coordinator,

Anu Hittle

SEE BELOW FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM OUR HAWAI‘I DELEGATION!

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