THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	96
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

affirming the importance of marine ecosystem restoration to achieve the state's decarbonization goals.

WHEREAS, human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels and the concomitant release of carbon dioxide, has catalyzed the effects of climate change; and

WHEREAS, thirty-four percent of the State's coastlines are vulnerable to intensifying coastal hazards resulting from accelerated sea level rise; and

WHEREAS, according to a report produced by the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission, global sea levels could rise more than three feet by 2100, with more recent projections showing this sea level rise occurring as early as 2060; and

WHEREAS, the report also found that over the next thirty to seventy years, approximately six thousand five hundred structures, thirty-eight miles of coastal roads, five hundred fifty cultural sites, and at least nineteen thousand eight hundred residents statewide will be exposed to chronic flooding, resulting in an estimated $19 billion in economic loss; and

WHEREAS, in response to the growing threat of climate change, the State established standards and implemented initiatives to expand reliance on sustainable and efficient energy, including a statewide benchmark of generating one hundred percent of the State's electricity through renewable sources by 2045; and

WHEREAS, the State also established a goal to limit greenhouse gas emissions by reducing emissions to at least fifty percent below 2005 levels by 2030; and

WHEREAS, the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers' Communiqué issued on April 16, 2023, affirmed the importance of nature-based solutions, including marine ecosystem restoration, to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and preserve and enhance carbon sinks; and

WHEREAS, climate researchers have asserted that establishing transparent methods for accounting direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions is crucial to ensuring consistency, accuracy, and comparability of greenhouse gas emissions data across the public and private sectors; and

WHEREAS, increasing attention to the potential of carbon sequestration through marine ecosystem restoration and enhancing carbon accounting methodologies for direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions would help the State meet its clean energy and climate change mitigation goals; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that this body affirms the importance of marine ecosystem restoration to achieve the State's decarbonization goals; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body further affirms its commitment to supporting renewable energy and conservation projects that align carbon sequestration with marine ecosystem restoration; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body affirms its commitment to strengthening carbon accounting methodologies to assist in the quantification and reduction of direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, including emissions reduction achieved through marine ecosystem restoration; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Chief Energy Officer of the Hawaii State Energy Office, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Marine Ecosystems; Carbon Sequestration; Decarbonization; Climate Change