HONOLULU — Gov. David Ige is leading a group of state and county leaders to Glasgow, Scotland for COP26 (Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), underway now and continuing through November 12.
HONOLULU — Gov. David Ige is leading a group of state and county leaders to Glasgow, Scotland for COP26 (Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), underway now and continuing through November 12.
COP26 is being heralded as the most consequential meeting of world leaders to discuss climate change since the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015. Hawai‘i was the first state to show its commitment to climate action by embracing the Paris Agreement in law and creating the state’s Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission. The state is also the first in the world to commit to a 100% clean energy goal.
During the regular meeting of the Commission on Monday, Ige outlined the importance of climate change considerations for Hawai‘i and our Pacific neighbors, and the sense of urgency the delegation is bringing to other world leaders.
“I want to make it clear that government action at the sub-national level is needed, do-able and in line with how our society can and should function,” Ige said in a release. “Climate change is an existential threat and like traditional navigators in Hawaiian voyaging canoes, we can see storm clouds ahead.”
He went on to detail the next generation of priority policies and high-impact actions the U.S. Climate Alliance is bringing forward at COP26. According to the Climate Alliance, this is to lead the world in the development of new, innovative, and effective climate policies and actions.
