Climate Justice, Energy, and Native Hawaiians

Hawaii’s dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic, social, and cultural wellbeing as oil prices continue to rise and the con- sequences of climate change become more apparent. Imported oil accounts for 90% of Hawaii’s energy needs, Hawaii consumers pay the highest electricity prices in the United States, and over $7 billion a year goes outside Hawaii to meet our energy consumption.
In 2008, the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI) was launched to provide a framework for “[c]lean, locally developed, renewable energy [that] will in the long run boost Hawaii’s economy because the land, the sea, the sun, and the wind are all capable of produc- ing limitless amounts of indigenous energy- forever.” Building on the HCEI, current state law requires that by 2030 seventy percent of Hawai’i’s energy be “clean energy,” coming from a combination of efficiency measures and renewable energy sources. The input of Native Hawaiians, Hawaii’s indigenous people, however, has by in large been minimal in formulating a policy to achieve this transition. Where the voices of Native Hawaiians have been most clearly heard, is at the implementation phase, and in opposition to clean en- ergy initiatives, such as geothermal development on Hawaii Island and big wind energy projects on Lanai and Molokai. The disconnect between the development of energy policy, and the communities most affected by the construction of renewable projects, is unfor- tunate because there is one common goal- for Hawaii to move towards energy independence. Yet the question remains, how can we move towards greater energy self-sufficiency for all of Hawaii’s people, while respecting the rights of the Native Hawaiian communi- ties whose beliefs and lands have been most greatly impacted by large scale development of renewable energy? This paper offers one suggestion, which is to look at the ways in which international climate change mitigation efforts are increasingly incorporating the recommendations of indigenous peoples in order to implement more effective and just solutions.