Hawaiʻi Youth Achieve Climate Justice Victory

Joanna Zeigler, Staff Attorney, Our Children’s Trust (left) and Mesina Digrazia-Roberts, Youth Plaintiff in Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Dep’t of Transportation (right)

The Reality of Climate Change in Hawaiʻi

For many, Hawaiʻi means a vacation filled with relaxation, pristine warm beaches, and an escape from the stress of our daily lives; a time to enjoy all the beauty the islands have to offer. But for those who live in Hawaiʻi, there is no denying the realities of how climate change is affecting the islands and changing the environmental landscape.  

The once-abundant and colorful coral that provides a habitat for the State’s unique fish is bleaching and dying from warming ocean temperatures. The days are hotter and harder to endure, particularly for those of us with health conditions that make us more susceptible to heat and humidity.

Severe weather and devastating wildfires are becoming more common, and more deadly. We are watching the beaches where our parents and grandparents played shrink due to sea level rise. The warming climate of the islands is also disrupting cultural traditions. For example, drought makes it harder to grow kalo, a plant important to the Native Hawaiian diet.  

These changes motivated thirteen youth from across the Hawaiian Islands to act and hold their government accountable for actively contributing to the climate crisis. The youth filed a lawsuit against the State and the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (“HDOT”), Navahine v. HDOT.  

Navahine v. HDOT

The suit alleged violations of two state constitutional provisions: (1) the public trust doctrine, which requires the State to conserve and protect all natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations; and (2) the right to a clean and healthful environment, which includes the right to a life-sustaining climate system. There are also several statutes in Hawaiʻi that require transportation emissions to decline and define the right to a clean and healthful environment.

For example, there is a statewide mandate to achieve net negative greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. There is also a requirement to decarbonize transportation, with a goal of zero emissions across all transportation modes. However, greenhouse gas emissions from transportation have been going up in Hawaiʻi at a time when emissions must decline pursuant to the State constitution and laws and to protect life as we know it.  

This graph, featured in one of the expert reports in the case, measures the transportation sector’s significant contributions to Hawaiʻi’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The Navahine youth plaintiffs protesting outside the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation building in Honolulu.

With these strong constitutional and statutory provisions, as well as their desire to protect their lives and the islands that they love, the youth plaintiffs were set up for success in the courts. 

Throughout the litigation process, the youth plaintiffs were unimaginably strong and remained vigilant despite pushback from the State defendants. All thirteen youth plaintiffs sat for a deposition where they shared their story and experiences, including how their lives had been disrupted by the impacts of climate change. It was their stories that moved the State towards settlement.  

Settling the case

On the eve of trial, rather than continuing to fight the youth, the State changed course. It came to the table, listened to the youth’s concerns and desired outcomes for the case, and ultimately reached an unprecedented settlement agreement. The agreement is comprehensive, and recognizes that the climate emergency poses immediate and long-term threats to Hawaiʻi’s economy, public health, natural resources, environment, and way of life. It also provides a recognition of youth’s Constitutional rights to a safe climate. The parties acknowledged the science that children are disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis and that global GHG emissions must be reduced to below 350 ppm by the end of the century.

Importantly, the agreement provides that the State will achieve zero emissions by 2045 across all transportation modes, including ground, marine, and interisland air transportation. The State will achieve this target by creating and implementing a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan, which will incorporate interim five-year GHG emissions reduction targets and identify the policies the state will implement to achieve zero emissions.  

The Navahine plaintiffs and Hawaiʻi governor Josh Green after settling the case in June 2024.

The settlement agreement also contains immediate commitments from the State, including dedicating funding to electric vehicle charging infrastructure; completing the bicycle, pedestrian, and transit networks within five years; and developing criteria for evaluating, selecting, and prioritizing projects that align with GHG reduction goals.

The agreement additionally creates the Hawaiʻi Transportation Youth Council, which provides an opportunity for representative youth from across the islands to provide input to HDOT on its planning and programming, giving youth an important voice in the transition to clean transportation across Hawaiʻi. The court will retain jurisdiction over the settlement until the zero emissions goal is achieved, or 2045, whichever happens first.  

Mesina’s Story

Below is an account from one plaintiff, Mesina, who grew up in Kailua, Oahu, and was 15 at the time Navahine v. HDOT was filed. She describes what it is like to be a youth aware of the climate crisis, why she is involved with the lawsuit, and how it felt to settle her case.

Being a plaintiff in the Navahine v. HDOT case has perhaps been one of the most beautiful and meaningful opportunities of my life. That being said, I think becoming a plaintiff in a climate lawsuit at age 15 was a decision made for me by circumstance. When I first learned about climate change as a child, all I remember is being utterly confused. The facts were as such: burning fossil fuels are bringing the downfall of human civilization, and humans are still burning fossil fuels. In my young mind, this could only mean that no one was trying to do anything about it. “I guess I should do something then since no one else seems to be paying attention,” I thought.  

But boy, how wrong was I? As soon as I began to express myself on this issue, I discovered that there were thousands of people working tirelessly day in and day out to stop the burning of fossil fuels. It became apparent that it was not a lack of shouting voices for change on any person's part, but rather a lack of people in real positions of power to listen to these voices in any distinctly impactful way.  

I, along with other people in the community, rallied, testified, made speeches to thousands of people holding inspiring signs, spoke to government officials, and sent letters to the president; all to be met with pats on the back and an array of adults saying how great these endeavors would look on my resume. I was beginning to think that there were no adults out there who could help us change.  

That is, until I heard about Our Children’s Trust. I had spoken at a rally for their federal case, Juliana v. United States, and was aware of the work they were doing, so when I heard I could be part of a case in Hawaiʻi, it was only natural for me to get involved. Being a plaintiff in Navahine v. HDOT was the first time someone genuinely gave me a voice that could create real change. Our incredible attorneys put me in front of people who had a say in the ways that our systems were run, and made those people hear me and my fellow plaintiffs out.  

To be a teenager who is fighting for a livable future is not something I want to be doing. While some adults will try to assuage their own guilt for lack of action on their part by labeling my activism endeavors as a “hobby”; this is not something I would like to be doing. It’s not my idea of an ideal childhood to have to beg your public officials to stop destroying your atmosphere, let alone your life. What I do feel is that these actions are my responsibility, and the way I show respect to the earth I inhabit. 

With that responsibility, I could not think of an organization I would rather be involved with. Through Navahine v. HDOT, I have sat at the table with government officials. I have seen their signatures at the bottom of documents promising to decarbonize transportation by 2045 and I know that we have the full support of the court over the next 20 years to see our settlement though. That is why I am in this case. I get to work with amazing people doing the work I have always wanted to get done but never had the ability to. We have been given a real voice to create real change, and for that, I will be forever grateful. 

As It Stands Today

The plaintiffs and their advocates are now working closely with HDOT to ensure effective implementation of the settlement agreement, with the inaugural meeting of the Hawaiʻi Transportation Youth Council having occurred in January 2025, and a draft of the GHG Reduction Plan expected in the spring of 2025.  

These brave youth in Hawaiʻi set out to have their voices heard and their fundamental rights protected, and ended up achieving so much more. Their settlement with the State will inevitably pave the way for other governments around the world to see that working with youth, not against them, can lead to remarkable results. The settlement will also hopefully inspire other youth that change is possible through leadership and there is hope that climate rights can be achieved, one case, one settlement, one step at a time.