RELATING TO THE CENTER FOR CLIMATE RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT.

HB1455

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1455

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to the center for climate resilient development
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION 1.
�
The legisture finds that leaders in the State are keenly aware of the
vulnerabilities and threats posed by climate change hazards
,
however no individual office or agency is responsible for developing
community resiliency plans.

����
The
legislature

also
finds that
community resiliency is addressed by the
Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change
(IPCC)
, the world's leading authority
on climate science.
�
In its
latest Assestment Report 6 (AR6), the IPCC define
d
the term
"
climate resilient development".
�
The legislature finds that climate resilience
development combines strategies to adapt to climate change with actions to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions to support sustainable development with an
emphasis on social equity for all communities.

����
The
legislature further finds that AR6 also defines climate resilient development
involving

questions of equity and system transitions in
land, ocean
,
and ecosystems; urban

and infrastructure; energy; industry;
and society
,
and includes adaptations for human,
ecosystem and planetary health.

����
The
legislature finds that given the lack of climate resilient development capacity
in the State, the legislature proposes leveraging existing modeling expertise
in the
s
chool of
o
cean and
e
arth
s
cience and
t
echnology (SOEST) at the
u
niversity of Hawaii at Manoa
,

which
has already been working with communities to identify multiple forms of
flooding due to sea level rise, hurricane storm surge, heat projections, and
leverages campus-wide expertise in wildfire ignition modeling.
�
Additionally, the State utilizes modeling
products developed by SOEST for the mandatory disclosure of sea level rise in
real estate transactions pursuant to section 508D-15(a)(5) and the analysis of
sea level rise required by the State's environmental review process.
�
The counties also rely on modeling products
developed by SOEST to carry out ordinances related to shoreline setbacks and
special management areas.

����
The
legislature also finds that these modeling capacities at SOEST are currently
funded by soft money grants and contracts and thus are a fragile resource for
Hawaii to depend on for community-focused climate science
and
could disappear any year if funding failed to materialize.
�
The legislature notes that due to the
incoming federal administration's desire to cut budgets and hostility to
climate research, this critical research is at risk of being lost.

����
The legislature finds that there should be
created
a
c
enter for
c
limate
r
esilient
d
evelopment in SOEST at
the university of Hawaii at Manoa
.
�
The
c
enter
should
be a community-focused resource that
provide
s
guidance on climate hazards, work
s
moku by moku across the state assessing risk and vulnerabilities to
climate hazards
,
and mak
es
recommendations for capital improvement projects and shovel-ready
projects to build resiliency.
�
The
c
enter
should
also continue to seek external
funding to bolster its efforts and expand research and modeling capabilities.

����
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to
appropriate funds to establish and operate the center for climate resilient
development.

����
SECTION 2.
�

There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii
the sum of $3,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year
2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal
year 2026-2027 for the university of Hawaii school of ocean and earth science
and technology to establish and operate the center for climate resilient
development.

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The sums

appropriated shall be expended by the university of Hawaii for the
purposes of this Act.

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SECTION 3.
�

This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

UH;
SOEST; Center for Climate Resilient Development; Climate Change; Appropriations

Description:

Appropriates
funds for the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology within the
University of Hawaii to establish and operate a Center for Climate Resilient
Development.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.