Gov. Josh Green convened a six-person climate advisory team last summer to research disaster policies and release a report with recommendations ahead of the upcoming legislative session.
Part of that research involved surveying 600 Hawaiʻi residents about how they see the risk of disaster.
About 70% of respondents felt something like the Lahaina wildfire could happen to their community. Only 39% thought their community was prepared for a natural disaster.
The report estimates that Hawaiʻi could see over $1 billion in property damage every year due to hurricanes, wildfires, floods and earthquakes.
The Climate Team recommends the state put close to $2 billion into two separate funds for climate preparedness and disaster recovery.
They suggest an increase to the transient accommodations tax, the tax on oil imports or a new environmental stewardship fee as possible sources of revenue for those funds.
The team also recommends spending $82 million per year towards removing invasive plants from public lands to reduce fire risks — as well as $55 million per year on environmental restoration to help protect against flooding.
While these efforts are costly, the climate advisory team writes that "Hawaiʻi can not afford to wait" when it comes to preparing for disaster.
Read the full report here.
