2024-09-25 PL-INT-2024-008759 GP 2045 Draft Comments - D. Thompson

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AN- Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Climate Adaptation Actions t �� Integrated Climate Action Plan for the Island of Hawaii Build Local Resilience to Climate Change d► 'r_rwiL !_AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT We wish to recognize and respect Kanaka Maoli people as the original and continuing stewards of the land known as Hawaii County. Through the ahupua'a system, Kanaka Maoli people managed the island waters and land for over a thousand years. Acknowledging the land is an expression of gratitude to the territory that nurtures us and the host culture and people who have built a relationship with and understanding of the land. Climate change is inextricably linked to the exploitation of people, land, and nature. Land acknowledgements recognize that this exploitation is tied to colonialism as a current and ongoing process and that governments have played a significant role in facilitating colonization on this land. The pursuit of colonization has resulted in significant loss of traditional knowledge, cultural practices, and native ecosystems that are essential for stewarding nature and preventing climate change. While it is outside the scope of this document, it is essential that the restoration and conservation of these traditional systems of knowing and ecological stewardship guide climate change mitigation and adaptation. Climate change is an existential threat to all life and natural systems globally and here in Hawaii. The natural cycle of greenhouse gases flowing from land and water to air (the greenhouse gas effect) enables life as we know it to exist. However, human activities have created an enhanced greenhouse effect that causes unprecedented warming of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. This warming triggers complex, cascading effects that jeopardize natural systems on Earth. To restore balance to our natural system, we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions at the local level. In order to prepare for the current and future effects of climate change, we need to weave climate adaptation into our efforts to build resilient communities. This Integrated Climate Action Plan (ICAP) for the Island of Hawaii establishes a greenhouse gas emissions baseline for the County, describes the impacts of climate change on natural hazards and community systems, and identifies both climate mitigation and adaptation actions that Hawaii County can take to reduce or minimize these effects. Land Acknowledgment ii