Honolulu City Council Committee on Energy, Environment, and Sustainability Meets on Climate Action and EV Infrastructure - October 14, 2025
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Honolulu City Council Committee on Energy, Environment, and Sustainability - October 14, 2025
The Committee on Energy, Environment, and Sustainability, chaired by Councilmember Wire, convened on October 14, 2025, to receive informational briefings on the city's annual sustainability report, the draft 2025-2030 Climate Action Plan (CAP), and an update on the electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure plan. The meeting featured presentations from the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resiliency (CCSR) and the Department of Design and Construction (DDC), followed by public testimony.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ms. Young testified in support of climate action, emphasizing the importance of community cleanups and youth involvement. She also referenced a settlement agreement in the Navahine case, which acknowledges constitutional rights to a livable climate, and criticized the state of Hawaii's transportation system, particularly for Native Hawaiian communities.
Discussion Items
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Annual Sustainability Report (2025): Haley Cook, Policy and Research Manager at CCSR, presented the city's seventh annual sustainability report, released on Earth Day 2025. The report includes over 40 performance indicators across seven sections: sustainable city operations, climate action, transportation, climate adaptation, waste, food, and disaster resilience. Highlights include: a 20% reduction in electricity use at city facilities since 2018 (excluding Skyline), renewable portfolio standard reaching 38% of Oahu electricity sales, EV ownership exceeding 25,000 vehicles (22% increase), per capita water use dipping below target, and Oahu food hub sales reaching a record $7.5 million. New data added includes monthly bus ridership, Firewise community locations, and National Flood Insurance Program policyholder data. Councilmember Tupola noted five new Firewise communities on the West Side and emphasized the need for pre-incineration waste diversion. Discussion on waste diversion highlighted the 97% diversion goal and the need for better data, especially for food waste and construction/demolition waste.
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Climate Action Plan 2025-2030: Whitney Poliahu Doole, CAP Coordinator, presented the draft plan, updated every five years. The CAP is community-driven, with over two years of engagement including surveys, workshops, and a CAP committee. It includes five focus areas: transportation, community energy solutions, sustainable communities, food systems, and waste, with 27 city commitments. Targets: 50% emissions reduction and 40% renewable energy by 2030; net-zero carbon by 2045. Emissions data shows transportation and energy as largest sources; consumption-based inventory reveals food systems account for 16-18% of household emissions. The plan aligns community priorities with emission reduction strategies. Councilmember Tupola asked about EV expansion for low-income residents and battery disposal. Chris (Clean Transportation Analyst) discussed curbside charging feasibility and permitting reforms. Councilmember Tolba inquired about survey methodology and EV accessibility. The committee agreed to future deep dives on EV infrastructure and watershed management.
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Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan Update: Alan Lee, Program Administrator at DDC, presented an update on EV charging infrastructure. Key projects include: installation of Level 2 and Level 3 chargers at city facilities, electrification of the city's light-to-medium duty fleet (e.g., at Kapalama Hale, Pearl City bus facility), and bus fleet electrification (e.g., Kalihi Palama Ready Line with 25 chargers for 15 buses, Alapai Transit Center with overhead pantograph technology). A case study of a Kia Niro EV for HFD showed operational savings of $8,000/year vs. gas, with a 2.4-year payback period despite a $30,000 cost for emergency equipment retrofit. Total infrastructure costs to date: approximately $18 million. Challenges include limited electrical capacity at older facilities, off-site power upgrades needed (e.g., for Pearl City bus facility), and integration with solar PV to offset charging costs. Councilmember Tolba questioned battery disposal plans; CCSR noted collaboration with HDOT and ENV on lithium-ion battery recycling. The committee highlighted the need for policies to assist residents in affording EVs and ongoing charger rebates (until June 30, 2026) for eligible sites.
Key Outcomes
- The committee received the informational briefings and thanked presenters.
- Future committee meetings will include in-depth discussions on waste diversion, EV expansion for residents, and watershed management.
- The committee noted the expiration of federal EV purchase rebates (as of September 30, 2025) but acknowledged continued charger rebates through June 30, 2026.
- No votes or formal actions were taken; the meeting was informational.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Will the committee on energy environment and sustainability please come to order? It is 1 03 p.m. on October 14, 2025. I would like to welcome committee member Tolpa, who is president in the council chamber today. And committee member vice chair Dosanto Stam is excused. And also we have Committee Member Tupola who is participating remotely by video conference. Councilmember Tupola, in accordance with section 92-3.7, wherevice statutes, please identify each person who is in the room with you at your location. Hi, Aloha Chair. I'm here alone. Thank you. Mahal for that. Appreciate your attendance. As I mentioned, Committee Vice Chair Dosanto Sam is excused from the meeting. Pursuant to Section 92-3.7 Hawaii Vice statutes, this meeting will be conducted as a remote meeting by interactive conference technology with the following procedures in effect for the meeting. Members of the public will be allowed to provide oral testimony on all items on the agenda in two ways, remotely and in-person in the council chamber. Remote and in-person oral testimony will be allowed when the agenda item is taken up. As both English and Hawaiian are official languages of the state of Hawaii, pursuant to Article 15, Section 4 of the City Constitution and Section 1-13 of the Hawaii revised statutes. Members of the public may testify in either language. For oral testimonies offered in Olilo Hawaii, additional time may be as may be necessary, will be allowed for the testifier to provide an English translation of their testimony if they so wish. Before testifying, each person shall state their name. Therefore, please announce beforehand if you'll be voluntarily signing out of the meeting. Written testimonies, including the testifyers address, email address, and phone number will be available to the public as described on the posted agenda. As a courtesy, please turn it off all cell phones. Members, that brings us to agenda item number one, an informational briefing update on the city's climate action plan and annual sustainability report. Joining us in the council chamber is Dr. Kaloha Fox for the Office of Climate Change Sustainability and Resiliency, who will be providing two presentations for your information. The presentations are available online as Mayor's Message Communications 153 and 154 2025. Hello, Dr. Fox for being here. I'll go ahead and turn it over to you to proceed. Aloha Avaka, Committee Chair Wire, aloha, honorable member of the Committee of Energy, Environment and Sustainability Tolba and Tupola. Great to see you today. Kelo Fox for the record, Deputy Director of the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency. The City and County of Honolulu's Resilience Office is pleased to provide two presentations within today's informational briefing. First, we'll begin with the annual sustainability report published earlier this year. Then we'll lead into the Climate Action Plan 2025 to 2030, which is currently in development for its update over the next five years. These two brief presentations are part of two larger efforts coordinated by our teams within CCSR, the policy and the energy teams. They're supported by sound data analysis, excellent communication and robust community engagement that you'll be able to hear in both parts. Committee Chairwire, with your permission, I'd like to request that Haley Cook lead the presentation on the annual sustainability report and that Whitney Poliahu Doole lead the climate action plan presentation separately. Of course. Wonderful. This will allow CCSR to help puzz between the two presentations so that we can address any questions, feedback that you folks may have, and we want to make sure that though both information packets are they're jam-packed. There's a lot of information here. We just also want to be able to slow down. The projects have similarities, but they are unique, and then this will allow us to fold into DDC's update on the city's uh electric vehicle infrastructure plan uh to follow quite nicely. Wonderful. The resilience office is committed to our annual reporting of the island sustainability progress to ensure transparency and our efforts towards a more resilient Oahu. At this time, I'll call up and introduce Haley Cook, Policy and Research Program Manager for CCSR. Mahalo, Miss Cook, as you turn on the mic.
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