Hawaii Gov. Josh Green Says Aloha to Decarbonization
From Climate One by Climate One from The Commonwealth Club
March 20, 2026 · 55 min
About this episode
Hawaii's Governor Josh Green discusses the state's ambitious decarbonization goals and the challenges ahead.
More than perhaps any other state, Hawaii has major incentives to decarbonize. Imported oil accounts for about 90% of Hawaii's total energy consumption, and electricity prices are more than three times the national average. So it may not be surprising that Hawaii was the first state in the nation to set a 100% renewable energy goal by 2045. But that’s a hard goal to achieve, especially given the realities of geographic isolation and the costs of importing fuel and materials. Hawaii Governor Josh Green is bullish about the island state’s decarbonization and wants all options on the table. That includes making liquified natural gas part of the mix, along with solar, wind, and geothermal. His administration passed the first “green fee” which imposes a tax on Hawaii visitors and is expected to generate $100 million for climate resilience projects. What can we learn from Hawaii’s decarbonization process? Guests: Josh Green, Governor of Hawaii Rylee Brooke Kamahele, Youth Plaintiff, Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Tessa M. Hill, Oceanographer and Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences, UC DavisFor show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org. Highlights: 00:00…
People in this episode
Guests: Josh Green, Rylee Brooke Kamahele, Tessa M. Hill
Topics covered
- decarbonization
- renewable energy
- climate resilience
- Hawaii
- energy consumption
- climate crisis
Keywords
- Hawaii
- decarbonization
- renewable energy
- climate resilience
- Josh Green
- energy consumption
- green fee
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation
Places: Hawaii, Hawaii
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