The plaintiffs in the case alleged Hawaii violated their rights by investing in fossil fuel-intensive infrastructure.
Days before a case brought by 13 young climate advocates in Hawaii was set to go to trial, the state’s governor and Department of Transportation on Thursday announced an “unprecedented” settlement that will expedite the decarbonization of Hawaii’s transit system — and formally “recognizes children’s constitutional rights to a life-sustaining climate.”
The plaintiffs in Navahine v. Hawaii Department of Transportation were between the ages of 9 and 18 when they filed their case in 2022, alleging that the state government was violating their rights under the Hawaii Constitution by investing in fossil fuel-intensive infrastructure that would worsen the effects of the climate crisis.
The case is the first youth-led legal challenge addressing constitutional rights related to pollution from the transportation sector, and according to Earthjustice, which represented the plaintiffs along with Our Children’s Trust, the settlement is the first agreement “of its kind, in which government defendants have decided to resolve a constitutional climate case in partnership with youth plaintiffs, committing to comprehensive changes” to reduce fossil fuel dependence and emissions.
???? BIG announcement today in Navahine v. Hawai‘i DOT – the world’s first youth-led constitutional climate case challenging climate pollution from a transportation system. Tune in on the @youthvgov/@earthjustice Facebook or Instagram accounts. #YouthvGov #YouthvGovHI pic.twitter.com/Xnuid6q1x5
Under the settlement, the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) agreed to “plan and implement transformative changes of Hawaii’s transportation system to achieve the state’s legally established goal of net-negative emissions by 2045,” said Earthjustice.
