EXPLAINER
A group of children and young activists won a constitutional case that forced a government department to reduce emissions from the transportation sector in Hawaii.
In a historic settlement of a climate change lawsuit brought by 13 child and youth activists in 2022, Hawaii’s transportation department agreed Thursday to decarbonize its transportation sector with the goal of reaching zero emissions by 2045.
Hawaii already aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, which means balancing the carbon emitted into the atmosphere through its capture or offset. But this agreement obligates the department to go further by halting carbon emissions altogether.
The agreement was hailed as groundbreaking. “[This] is the world’s first youth-led constitutional climate case that addresses climate pollution from the transportation sector,” said Earthjustice, an environmental law nonprofit, following the settlement’s announcement.
Hearings in the case were due to begin on Monday next week, but will no longer be held.
What was Hawaii’s climate process about?
A group of children and youth filed the lawsuit, Navahine v Hawaii Department of Transportation, in 2022 in Hawaii First Circuit Court.
The plaintiffs alleged that the U.S. state of Hawaii violated their constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment by implementing transportation policies and infrastructure that use fossil fuels and cause polluting emissions.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs cited rights granted by the public trust doctrine and the Constitution, guaranteed by the Hawaii Constitution in Articles XI, Section 1 and XI, Section 9.
The public trust doctrine states that public natural resources are held in trust by the state for the benefit of the people.
Furthermore, the applicants cited Hawaii’s constitutional commitment to “conserve and protect Hawaii’s natural beauty and all natural resources” and pointed to the fact that Hawaii’s transportation sector is expected to account for 60 percent of Hawaii’s emissions. state by 2030.
The trial was scheduled to begin Monday of next week, but will now not proceed because Hawaii State Environmental Court Judge John Tonaki formally accepted the settlement reached in court before the trial began.
Who opened the case?
The plaintiffs are all children and young people who were between nine and 18 years old when they opened the case in 2022.
One of the plaintiffs, 14-year-old Navahine F, is a Native Hawaiian raised in Kaneohe, located on the island of Oahu, about 20 miles (32 km) from Honolulu.
The suit claims that heavy rains and droughts due to climate change are threatening his ability to continue his family’s tradition of growing the taro root vegetable.
“If urgent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are not made, these [family’s wetlands] will be submerged within Navahine’s lifetime,” the lawsuit said about the danger that rising sea levels pose to native agricultural practices.
The lawsuit also cited the case of another plaintiff, 15-year-old Ka’ōnohi, who said he dreams of studying marine biology or archeology, but fears that those career options may not be available to him in the future due to the effect of climate change on the natural environment.
What did the Hawaii Department of Transportation agree to?
- Hawaii will chart a “roadmap” to achieve zero emissions from its island land, sea and air transportation systems by 2045. This goes further than its previously stated goal of becoming “carbon neutral” by 2045.
- A Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan will be published within a year of the agreement reached on Thursday.
- Provisions include the creation of a unit and positions of responsibility within the tourism department to coordinate the reduction of greenhouse gases and ensure that road construction responds to the needs of people of all ages and abilities.
- Additionally, pedestrian, bicycle and public transport networks are expected to be completed within five years, while a minimum of US$40 million will be dedicated to expanding the public electric vehicle charging network by 2030.
What did the parties in the case say about the settlement?
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green’s office released a statement Thursday in which he said, “This agreement informs how we as a state can best move forward to achieve life-sustaining goals.”
Referring to the settlement and addressing the plaintiffs, Green said, “It’s groundbreaking, you are the first in the country, I believe in a state, to be successful,” during a press conference.
The statement from the governor’s office explained that this is the first youth-led constitutional climate case seeking to address climate pollution from the transportation sector.
He added that the agreement is also the first in which state government entities have decided to work with young plaintiffs to address concerns regarding constitutional issues arising from climate change by committing to and implementing specific plans.
The statement also quoted Navahine, who said, “We got what we wanted, and faster than we expected.”
Where have more children and young people presented cases about climate change?
In recent years, young people around the world have sought legal action to pave the way for stronger climate policies. These cases include:
- Germany, 2020: Nine people aged between 15 and 32 challenged Germany’s Federal Climate Protection Act in the Federal Constitutional Court, claiming that the emission reduction targets set out in the law were insufficient. The court ruled in its favor and Germany brought forward the deadline for achieving carbon neutrality from 2050 to 2045.
- Montana, USA, 2020: Sixteen children and young people between the ages of five and 22 sued the state of Montana for failing to protect their right to a clean environment. In 2023, the court ruled in his favor and declared that Montana must take climate change into account when approving fossil fuel projects.
- Europe, 2023: Six Portuguese children and young people aged between 11 and 24 took 32 European nations to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that the government’s inaction on climate change discriminates against young people. However, the court rejected the case due to its excessively broad geographic scope.
- South Korea, 2024: Two hundred people, including 62 children under the age of five, have joined a petition heard by South Korea’s Constitutional Court, which alleges that the government is not protecting people in the country from the harm of climate change. The verdict is expected later this year.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
