Mayor Mitch Roth on Wednesday signed Bill 48 creating a new department to be known as the Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience with a budget of $619,326.
Introduced and championed by council members Heather Kimball and Rebecca Villegas, the bill represents a collaborative effort between County leadership, community advocates, and concerned citizens who recognized the urgent need to address the pressing challenges posed by a changing environment.
The position of administrator for the new department will be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the county council. The candidate will have experience in leading a major program in sustainability, climate action, environmental management, environmental or social justice, or a related field. Additionally the administrator is to have an understanding of Native Hawaiian culture and of the unique environmental and social justice issues in Hawaii among other qualifications.
The bill in part states “the Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience is created to coordinate and manage policies and programs to address sustainability, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and adapt to the impacts of climate change and other natural and human caused hazards. Through regular stakeholder engagement these policies and programs shall promote the County’s sustainability and resilience in a manner that is immediate, direct, coordinated, and equitable in their impact on various communities in the County.”
“In order to make sure that our keiki have a home where they can thrive for generations, we need to make sure that the anchors that keep them grounded here are preserved in perpetuity. Those anchors are things like our environment, culture, and natural resources — all of which will be the focus of our new OCSER. We know that too many of our kids are leaving, and we are committed to making it so that they only do so by choice and not by necessity,” said Roth in a prepared statement.
The office will act as a central hub for coordinating efforts across various county departments and community organizations. It will work towards implementing innovative policies and programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote renewable energy, enhance energy efficiency, protect biodiversity, and fortify infrastructure against climate change’s impacts.
The office is tasked with improving environmental justice and equity by promoting specific policies and actions to ensure that sustainability, change mitigation and adaptation, and resilience efforts also benefit lower and middle income, Native Hawaiian, and historically marginalized communities.
“The design and mission of OSCER is a new approach that has been specifically developed in response to a two-year process to identify gaps between plan and implementation in the areas of sustainability, climate change, equity, and resilience,” said Kimball. “The Office will provide technical, policy, and resource support both internally and with our community partners, resulting in effective and coordinated progress. I think Bill 48 and the collaborative approach used to develop it represents best practice in public policy development.”
The office shall develop metrics, benchmarks, and data visualization tools to track and communicate progress towards sustainability, climate mitigation and adaptation, equity, and resilience goals.
Additionally, the office will evaluate potential impacts of climate change on county facilities and infrastructure and provide operating and capital improvement budget recommendations for consideration in addition to the recommendations of the planning department.
“The creation of the Office of Sustainability Climate Equity and Resilience is a vital investment in the future of Hawaii County,” said Villegas. “Aligning our county with progressive policies and pono priorities gives us a fighting chance to tackling the challenges ahead due to climate change. A big mahalo to everyone who contributed and supported the process of bringing OSCER to fruition.”