State plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Hawai‘i's transportation industry could give incentives to drivers to “retire” older vehicles and replace them with electric vehicles.
On Friday, the state Department of Transportation published its “Hawai‘i Energy Security and Waste Reduction Plan,” a proposed strategy to phase out carbon emissions from the state’s transportation sector in order to meet Hawai‘i’s self-imposed deadline to achieve net-negative greenhouse gas emissions.
Under the state’s 2018 zero-emission mandate, Hawai‘i must achieve 100% clean energy by 2045. However, a secondary deadline requires that emissions be reduced to 50% of 2005 levels by 2030.
The plan comes as part of a 2024 legal settlement between the state and a group of 13 local youth — represented by environmentalist groups Our Children’s Trust and Earthjustice — who sued DOT for failing to reduce emissions on track with the 2030 and 2045 deadlines.
Consequently, the plan proposes “aggressive” decarbonization measures across all ground, marine and aerial transportation systems.
Ground transportation
Hawai‘i Department of Health statistics estimate that ground transportation releases more than 3.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases per year, about 40% of gases released by the entire state transportation sector.
To reverse this, the plan claims that accelerating the shift from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles is “the single most effective strategy for reducing surface transportation … emissions.”
To hasten that transition, HDOT has proposed a number of incentive programs, including one whereby drivers could retire older vehicles — which emit more carbon dioxide than modern cars — and replace them with electric vehicles.
According to the plan, HDOT could launch a pilot program by 2027, and would initially target vehicles over 20 years old within specific communities, before expanding statewide and targeting cars over 15 years old in 2030.
The program would aim to retire 5,000 vehicles by 2030.
Other proposed vehicle electrification programs include partnering with rental car companies to accelerate their own transitions to electric vehicles — by offering airport access incentives or building charging infrastructure at hotels — a sales tax exemption for electric vehicles, and raising registration fees for gas-powered vehicles while reducing them for electric vehicles.
Some of these proposals could begin as early as next year, the plan claims.
Marine transportation
Marine transportation accounts for only 6% of the state transportation industry’s annual emissions.
Consequently, the plan’s primary strategy for reducing the emissions of sea travel is to reduce the number of ships visiting the state. The plan calls for a 50% reduction in cruise ship port-of-calls by 2030, and a 75% reduction for ships with more than 3,000 passengers.
By 2045, the plan proposes, cruise ship calls should 75% down from 2023 levels.
The specifics of how this reduction would be carried out are not explained in the plan. Rather, the document simply states that HDOT would work “in coordination with cruise lines, local businesses, stevedores, ground transportation providers and affected communities” to develop the necessary regulations.
Other ocean-centric strategies generally focus on the adoption of cleaner fuels — first biodiesel, and greener fuels later — for intra- and inter-state vessels.
Air transportation
Air travel generates about 4.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gases per year, nearly half of the state’s entire transportation industry.
Unlike marine travel, the plan does not prioritize reducing flights to and from the state, but primarily focuses on the development of “sustainable aviation fuel,” or “SAF,” which is an alternative jet fuel derived from feedstock that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 94%, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The plan notes that federal law does not allow states to mandate that airlines use SAF for intrastate flights. However, the plan proposes SAF tax credits to promote the fuel’s use in the state over the next few years, potentially beginning next year.
Other plans for reducing emissions across Hawai‘i aviation range from mundane — such as sweeping improvements throughout state airports to improve energy emissions at terminals and electrify ground service equipment and vehicles — to largely speculative, such as collaborating with airplane manufacturers to develop hydrogen-fueled or wholly electric aircraft, both of which the plan describes as “nascent” technology that would need extremely rapid development to become a significant component of Hawai‘i air travel by 2045.
The future
The cost of implementing any of these strategies — either the basic market price for installing charging infrastructure, or the overall economic impact of reducing cruise ship traffic by 75% — is not factored into the plan.
However, the document does include a chapter on HDOT’s “Equity Approach,” which the department claims will help the state transition to clean energy without increasing the financial burden on the state’s vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.
Meanwhile, the plan will be evaluated annually, with a comprehensive update every five years, to determine which strategies are the most effective. HDOT will provide annual updates on its progress to the public, something which was mandated in the 2024 settlement agreement.
Lawyers and plaintiffs in that lawsuit praised the document Monday. Andrea Rodgers, co-counsel for the youth plaintiffs and deputy director of U.S. strategy for Our Children’s Trust, called it “a necessary first step in the journey towards climate justice for youth in Hawai‘i” in a statement.
“I know what it means to try to get around O‘ahu on a budget, it is not easy,” said Kawika Pegram, a member of a state “Youth Transportation Council” established by the settlement, in a statement. “I am confident that these investments being made now in the alternatives to driving a gas car will pay out huge dividends for all of us, but especially the young people coming up behind me. There is no doubt that public transportation is the cheapest, safest, and cleanest way for us all to get around.”
Currently, the plan is subject to a month-long public comment period, giving Hawai‘i residents until July 27 to submit comments on the plan, either online or at a public hearing to be held at an undetermined future date.
HDOT has stated that the final plan should be published in August.
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
