FILE - A beachgoer walks down Waikiki Beach, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, in Honolulu. About two years after 13 children and teens in Hawaii sued the state over the threat posed by climate change, both sides reached a settlement that includes an ambitious requirement to decarbonize Hawaiis transportation system in the next 21 years. It's another example of a younger generation channeling their frustration with the government's response to the climate crisis into a legal battle.Navahine v.
The settlement terms may seem ambitious, but as an isolated island chain the middle of the Pacific, Hawaii is on the “front lines” of climate disasters, Our Children's Trust attorney Andrea Rodgers told the Associated Press on Friday. Also under the settlement, Hawaii will be accountable to a judge who will enforce the agreement if disputes arise.
The state initially moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the court “cannot coopt legislative and executive power by issuing an injunction ordering HDOT to create new regulatory programs.”