Hawaii settles with young plaintiffs in climate case

Hawaii’s government on Thursday settled a lawsuit with a group of youth who sued the state’s Department of Transportation over its use of fossil fuels, the latest in a string of victories around the world in cases brought by young plaintiffs.

The case was filed in 2022 and organized by Our Children’s Trust, a nonprofit that investigates similar cases in other state and federal courts, and Earthjustice, an environmental law firm. Last year, a group in Montana, also organized by Our Children’s Trust, won their case against that state using a similar argument to the one in Hawaii.

The Hawaii case alleged that the state’s Department of Transportation, by relying on polluting fuels such as gasoline, violated the Hawaii Constitution, which guarantees the “right to a clean and healthful environment.”

The settlement, announced shortly before the lawsuit, requires the state to make a series of changes to reduce emissions that are warming the planet. It also recognizes the constitutional rights of youth in the state to a clean and healthy environment.

“We got what we came for, and we got it faster than we expected,” Navahine F., the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in a statement. (Some claimants have not been publicly identified due to their age.)

The settlement was approved by a court and Governor Josh Green of Hawaii announced the agreement along with the youth who brought the case.

“The passion these young people show in advocating for a healthy, sustainable future for their generation and generations to come is commendable,” Governor Green said in a statement. “This settlement informs how we as a state can best move forward to achieve life-sustaining goals.”

The state said it would create a plan that would completely decarbonize its transportation system within 20 years and would soon begin expanding bike lanes. It also plans to spend at least $40 million installing electric vehicle chargers by 2030.

“Young plaintiffs from Navahine have activated the courts and inspired true democracy in action,” said Julia Olson, the founder of Our Children’s Trust.

But other parts of the transport sector will be harder to decarbonise.

The Department of Transportation oversees the state’s airports, and there are currently no viable ways to power passenger aircraft without fossil fuels. The department also manages the state’s ports, where container ships and cruise ships also rely on fossil fuels.

While the state of Hawaii was a defendant in that case, the state capital, Honolulu, is a plaintiff in another high-profile climate case. In 2020, the city sued Sunoco and other major oil companies, accusing them of misleading the public about the risks of climate change.

That case, one of several similar lawsuits that cities and states have filed against the fossil fuel industry, may have recently ended up before the Supreme Court.

Sunoco declined to comment on the ongoing lawsuit.