Building Community in the Critical Decade
Why now, why 2025?
We are halfway through the critical decade and are set to fall short of meeting our 2030 climate goals. This year we will set intentions, raise awareness, and catalyze action to put us back on track to a climate ready Hawai‘i.
State and County agencies recognize the urgency of the climate crisis and have identified measurable actions they will take to address climate change. CCMAC will track these actions and share progress with you. We will also be working closely with partners across the state to host talk story sessions, events, workshops, and provide weekly information on our social media platforms to deepen understanding around climate impacts in Hawai‘i, resources to support communities experiencing those impacts and tips on how we can all work together to catalyze climate action.
The 2020s are referred to as the critical decade for climate action, the last chance for governments, businesses, and communities to carry out significant measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Halfway through the decade, 2025 is a pivotal year for climate initiatives and policies. Taking action in 2025 is key to renewing our ambition and holding ourselves accountable to our goals to ensure a livable future.
taking action as a community
Climate action refers to a range of activities, mechanisms, policy instruments, and individual steps that aim at reducing the severity of human-induced climate change and its impacts. This can range from a new policy to require companies to recycle the products they sell to choosing to walk or bike to school or work instead of driving. Other examples can include using climate-smart agricultural practices, saving energy at home, and throwing away less food.
a Look into the year
Click on the images to learn more about each month!
January: Climate 101
EVENTS: 2025 Climate Resolution Pledge
February: Equity
EVENT: Film Series
March: Resilience
EVENT: Student Film Session
April: Culture
EVENTS: Merrie Monarch, Earth Day
May: Affordability
EVENTS: Bike Event, HI Climate Fair
June: Waste
EVENT: Climate Fair
July: ʻĀina
EVENT: Climate Fair
August: Health
EVENTS: Climate Action Art Show, Hala Fest
September: Water
EVENT: Surf Film Festival
October: Food
EVENT: Producers and Consumers Climate Challenge
November: Keiki and Kūpuna
EVENT: Youth Summit
December: Community
EVENT: Climate Week
- Join us this year as we build community in the critical decade!
- Familiarize yourself with the unique effects of climate change in Hawai‘i
- Learn more about Hawai‘i’s climate goals and targets
- Spread the word and talk to your family and friends about the climate crisis
- Take the 2025 Climate Action Pledge
- Attend events throughout the year to engage the community in climate change action
Tips and tricks for being more climate friendly
Planting Native Plants
Planting native plants in your home or community supports our native ecosystems. These resources can help you get started:
- Identify native plants that might be right for your home with this guide
- Growing plants from seed guide
- Community gardens on O‘ahu
- Visit our calendar of events to find a planting project near you
Volunteering
Volunteering in your community is a great way to contribute to the work already being done to fight climate change! These resources can help you find an organization:
- Climate Protectors Hawai‘i has organized a list of local organizations working on addressing climate change
- The Climate Commission posts volunteer opportunities on our events calendar as they occur
- The Hawai‘i Tourism authority posts volunteer opportunities sorted by activity and island
Clean Transportation
If everyone committed to using clean transportation for just half of our trips under a mile, we could save $900 million and 2 million tons of C02 every year! These resources can help you find your new favorite way to travel around your island:
- Calculate the cost of driving
- Travel by bus: Hawai‘i, Maui, O‘ahu, Kaua‘i
- Travel by rail: O‘ahu
- Travel by bike: O‘ahu Bicycle Program, Biki Bikeshare
- Carpool: Carpooler’s Survival Guide
- Walk: Pedestrian Resources
Low Carbon Diet
Changing your diet is one of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint. Whether you eat less meat, choose local ingredients, or switch your diet to vegetarian or vegan, your actions will be both delicious and impactful. These resources can help you get started:
- Why is Eating Local Important?
- Find a famers market to buy your groceries
- More farmers markets
- Vegetarian and Vegan diets in Hawai‘i
Renewable Energy
Hawai‘i is aiming for 100% renewable energy by 2045 and every bit of renewable energy generation matters. These resources can help you get started:
- Homeowners can install rooftop solar on your home using the GEM$ program
- Home and apartment renters can join the Community-Based Renewable Energy program
Reducing Food Waste
Hawai‘i throws away 237,000 tons of food per year or 26% of the available food supply. Your actions can help prevent this waste and protect our environment. These resources can help you get started:
- The reality of food waste in Hawai‘i
- How to prevent food waste
- Composting services: Hawai‘i, Maui, O‘ahu, Kaua‘i
- Composting at home
Reducing Energy Usage
Hawai‘i is aiming to save over 4,000 gigawatt hours of electricity through energy efficiency by 2030. Saving energy not only helps to protect our climate but it also can help you save money on your energy bills. These resources can help you learn how you can save energy this year:
- Learn about our energy efficiency goals
- Replace your appliances with energy efficient models using Hawai‘i Energy Rebates
- Easy strategies to save energy at home
Reducing Water Usage
Climate change threatens the availability of freshwater in Hawai‘i. Your actions to reduce your water usage will help us preserve our freshwater resources and protect our environment. These resources can help you learn how you can save water this year:
- Identify areas you can save water via a simple water audit
- Use a low flow shower head
- Change your appliances and habits
Reducing Consumption
One of the easiest ways to be climate smart is to reduce your consumption of goods. A significant amount of greenhouse gasses are released during the creation, transport and disposal of goods. You can help fight climate change by refusing items and single use plastics you don’t need and only buying the necessities. These resources can help you get started:
- Introduction to sustainable consumption
- Simple habits to help you reduce your consumption
- Do a home waste audit
Talking with Family and Friends
Starting the conversation about climate change can be difficult but it remains an important action to take in addressing the climate crisis. These resources can help you get started:
- How to talk about climate change from the Nature Conservancy
- Climate Conversation Tips
- A video on The Secret to Talking about Climate Change
Advocating for laws can help combat climate change on a systemic scale, There are many ways you can get involved with your lawmakers on the federal, state, county, and local scale. These resources can help you get started:
- Find your federal representatives
- Find your state representatives, find their contact information, submit testimony
- Find your county council members: Hawai‘i, Maui, Honolulu, Kaua‘i
- Submit testimony to your county council: Hawai‘i, Maui, Honolulu, Kaua‘i
- Find your neighborhood board: Hawai‘i, Maui, O‘ahu, Kaua‘i