Historic Agreement Settles Navahine v. Hawai‘i Department of Transportation Climate Litigation

Governor Josh Green, M.D., joined youth plaintiffs in announcing the resolution of the Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation constitutional climate case. The settlement agreement acknowledges the constitutional rights of Hawaiʻi’s youth to a life-sustaining climate and confirms the commitment by the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) to plan and implement transformative changes of Hawaiʻi’s transportation system to achieve the state’s goal of net-negative emissions by 2045. 

The agreement also includes numerous provisions for immediate and ongoing action steps by HDOT. These include, for example: 

- Establishing a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan within one year of the agreement
- Creating a lead unit and responsible positions within HDOT to coordinate the mission of GHG reduction throughout the agency
- Establishing a volunteer youth council to advise on HDOT mitigation and adaptation commitments in the years to come
- Improving the state transportation infrastructure budgeting process to prioritize reduction of GHG and vehicles miles traveled (VMT) and transparently analyze and disclose the GHG and VMT impacts of each project and the overall program.
- Making immediate, ambitious investments in clean transportation infrastructure

Historic Agreement Settles Navahine v. Hawai‘i Department of Transportation Climate Litigation

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