Hawaii’s sustainability plan earns national award

A plan that aims to guide Hawaii’s climate and sustainability actions over the course of a decade has received a national Merit Award from the American Planning Association, the Governor’s Office announced Wednesday.

Sustainability Coordinator Danielle Bass accepted the award on behalf of Gov. David Ige and the State of Hawaii during a reception and awards celebration on Monday at the San Diego Central Library in California.

“Hawaii has long been at the forefront of sustainable practices from our Native Hawaiian worldview to malama ‘aina and malama Honua,” Bass said. “This ten-year plan for the 2020-2030 decade brings us all together, as the people of Hawaii — across sectors, government agencies and communities with a shared vision, strategies and actions to build a sustainable Hawaii.”

The state Office of Planning and Sustainable Development’s “Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan: Charting a Course of the Decade of Action (2020-2030)” recommends actions Hawaii can take to reach its sustainability and climate resiliency goals. It aims to put the state in alignment with global initiatives like the United Nations’ crucial 2020-2030 “Decade of Action” to accelerate sustainable solutions to challenges such as poverty, and the goals of the Paris Agreement that seeks to limit global warming.

Ige said the plan is “the state’s first nationally recognized sustainability and climate plan.”

The plan’s shared vision, gathered through public input, includes:

● Rebuilding a diversified economy sustainably — not simply returning to “business as usual.”

● Promoting a regenerative and sustainable tourism industry. ● Increasing self-sufficiency in the local agricultural and energy sectors.

● Developing a green workforce.

● Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the energy, transportation, agriculture and waste sectors.

● Advancing sustainable communities through strategies that improve land use.

● Investing in communities — education and people.

● Investing in local infrastructure to ensure climate-resilient adaptation and strong sustainable communities.

For more information, visit hawaii2050.hawaii.gov/.