Planning for Climate Resilience with the State of Hawaiʻi’s Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force
By: Brittaney Key and Danielle Bass
The State of Hawaiʻi’s Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force resumed business earlier this year with its February 16, 2021 meeting. Administratively attached to the State of Hawaiʻi’s Office of Planning, the State Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force is chaired by the Office of Planning’s Director, and consists of members from various State agencies, the counties, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, agricultural and ranching industries, and environmental nonprofits. The State’s Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force plays an important role in the State’s efforts to reach the many sustainability and climate statutory targets, and is especially key in the planning, research, and coordination to achieve Hawaiʻi’s Zero Emissions Clean Economy Target (Hawaiʻi Revised Statues [HRS] §225P-5), which mandates the state to sequester more atmospheric carbon and greenhouse gases than emitted by 2045. While reducing greenhouse gas emissions is vital to reach this target, utilizing Hawaiʻi’s agricultural and natural lands to capture greenhouse gas emissions will be necessary to achieve the specific Zero Emissions Clean Economy mandated by statute.
The Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force is also tasked to promote various co-benefits of greenhouse gas sequestration, including reducing urban heat island effects and temperatures through the increase of urban tree canopy, and improving soil health through carbon sequestration and regenerative agricultural practices. Recent presentations at the Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force’s May 2021 meeting, focused on the sequestration potential of green infrastructure, specifically through the urban tree canopy and water-smart facility and physical infrastructure design.
Farmers from “Healthy Soils Hawaiʻi” assessing the local carbon sequestration opportunities and increase to soil health. Healthy Soils Hawaiʻi was a pilot program sponsored by the State of Hawaiʻi’s Office of Planning, the State’s Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force, Hawaiʻi Agriculture Research Center, and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to develop a financial incentive program with Hawaiʻi farmers and ranchers to identify climate-smart best management practices that sequester carbon dioxide in soil, increase soil health, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Photo Credit: State of Hawaiʻi Office of Planning and Hawaiʻi Agriculture Research Center
Multiple projects funded by the Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force investigated soil health and sequestration, potential pathways to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide, and opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land management practices. The State of Hawaiʻi’s Office of Planning, in partnership with the Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force, launched a pilot project establishing “Healthy Soils Hawaiʻi” with the Hawaiʻi Agriculture Research Center, and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to develop a financial incentive program with Hawaiʻi farmers and ranchers to identify climate-smart best management practices that sequester carbon dioxide in soil, increase soil health, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The State of Hawaiʻi’s Office of Planning’s Feasibility and Implications of Establishing a carbon Offset Program for the State of Hawaii, was published in December 2019 and is available at the Office of Planning’s website.
An additional project sponsored by the State of Hawaiʻi’s Office of Planning investigated and assessed the feasibility of establishing a State-sponsored Carbon Offset Program. The Office of Planning published the Feasibility and Implications of Establishing a Carbon Offset Program for the State of Hawaii on December 2019 and presented its findings on participating in the international carbon market and carbon offsetting to the Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force and State Legislature.
Based on the results of these projects, the comprehensive presentations to the Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force, and the respective expertise and recommendations of its members, the task force is preparing to submit a preliminary report to the State Legislature before the 2023 Legislative Session, and subsequent annual reports in the following years as mandated by HRS §225P-4. This preliminary report will outline proposed legislation and the task force’s findings relevant to its objectives, which include: identifying indicators to increase greenhouse gas sequestration, improvements to Hawaiʻi’s soil health, and potential resulting increases in agricultural and aquacultural product yield and quality from these improvements; identifying policies and practices to expand the urban tree canopy; and identifying policies and practices to encourage greenhouse gas sequestration and its co-benefits in agriculture, marine use, and aquaculture.
The State Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force holds public meetings quarterly, and its remaining meetings for 2021 are tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 1:30pm and Wednesday, November 18, 2021 at 1:30pm, locations to be announced. Please visit http://planning.hawaii.gov/ghgstf or contact the Office of Planning’s Statewide Sustainability Program if you are interested in more information on the task force’s members, meetings, and past and current work.