State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Hawaii to Become Carbon Neutral by 2045

Route Fifty: On Tuesday (May 8), Hawaii’s legislature passed two bills setting out the most ambitious climate goal of any US state. House bill 2182 will create a task force that sets out a plan to make the state carbon neutral “no later than 2045.” House bill 1986 will create a carbon-offset program to help the task force meet its target.

One of the bills cites a study that found that Hawaii could suffer $19 billion worth of damage to private property because of a rise in sea levels. When public infrastructure is included, the damage will likely be a lot higher. That is why it isn’t surprising that the US state most vulnerable to climate change is the one most keen to mitigate its impact.

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