HONOLULU (AP) - Honolulu has committed to a new climate change plan to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2025 compared to levels present in 2015.
Matthew Gonser, the executive director of the Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency, said to reporters on Thursday that the city’s carbon pollution had increased every year since 2017.
“That’s why we need to really look at this plan of action, find the ways that we can immediately take action and drive those emissions down over time,” Gonser said.
The Climate Action Plan represents one tool the city is using to achieve its commitment to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2045.
As part of the plan, the city will fully transition its vehicle fleet to electric or clean energy by 2035, including its 550 buses. Honolulu has three electric buses and expects to add about 14 more by the end of the year.
The city also committed to exploring whether to install more protected bicycle lanes and electric vehicle charging stations.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi supported the plan and emphasized the need for action, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
“Plans are one thing; it’s how you react and what you do in the days and weeks ahead,” Blangiardi said. “None of us have an ability to predict the future. We just know the inevitability of the impact on climate change.”
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