Maui Councilmember Kelly King is currently attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland — representing island communities at the Local Government for Sustainability pavilion.
World leaders are gathered to collaborate on how to move forward with the goals of the Paris Agreement — to reduce global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, and adapt to changing weather patterns.
"What we’re trying to drive home is the need for collaboration across all levels of government — city, county, state, and federal. And also collaboration horizontally from county to county, and working with cities in other states," King said.
Gov. David Ige, state Department of Land and Natural Resources Chair Suzanne Case and the state’s Chief Energy Officer Scott Glenn will also attend the conference starting this Saturday. Six University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa students and faculty from the Willian S. Richardson School of Law and School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology are also attending.
The UN Climate Change Conference will continue through next Friday.