2024-09-26 PL-INT-2024-008822 GP 2045 Draft Comments - T. Keeney

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period. The only practical source of such a fee is a Visitor Accommodations Tax. The current State administration has suggested a$50/visitor fee (voluntary). This is insufficient to reduce visitation here. Whereas the appropriate placement of revenues from a Visitor's fee should be toward resilience to the challenges of Climate Change and sea level rise, in that visitor air transport emissions are greater than Hawaii's domestic emissions, the current proposal before legislature places the modest voluntary revenues received toward renovations of parks and trails and beaches. P 12. Airline transportation also contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, as the only transportation to and from the island is by air. Comment: The State Greenhouse Gas Inventory places the greenhouse gas emissions from domestic aviation at 3.2 million tons CO2(e). 86% of passengers are visitors. This is with total domestic emissions about 13 million tons. All ground transportation accounts for 3.8MMT and stationary combustion (electricity generation) at 8MMT. However this 3.2MMT is departures only (one way) and does not include connecting flights on the itinerary but only the leg leaving Hawaii. It does not count any international flights. It accounts for minimal NOx emissions but otherwise only CO2 emissions. An averaging of results of eight aviation greenhouse gas calculators found online places the `non-0O2' emissions warming potential at equal to the CO2 emissions and thus the total global warming GHG emissions from aviation at 2x the easily calculable CO2 emissions. Using this method Makena Coffman PhD., UHERO faculty & an author of the Hawaii State GHG Inventory, concluded that emissions from visitor aviation equaled the total of Hawaii's domestic emissions in 2019. Her method also did not include any connecting legs of an itinerary other than the Hawaii legs. Using her method but adding connecting flights brings the total global warming in CO2 equivalents to approximately 1-1/2x the State's total greenhouse gas emission. Using the IPCC endorsed factors for Non-0O2 emissions in calculating warming from aviation brings the total CO2(e) from air transport of visitors to 2x Hawaii's total domestic GHG emissions. P13. "The County will need to preserve open spaces and forested lands to maintain carbon sinks. Comment: The county needs to dramatically increase its open spaces and forested lands but preservation is a foundational part of that. Funds for tree planting and restoration of forested lands should become available via a fee on visitors here due to visitors heavy GHG footprint from air travel. P15. Pursue innovative solutions that help achieve various goals such as waste to energy and micronuclear. Comment: The traditional approach to `Waste to Energy', the burning of waste, creates more greenhouse gas per KWh of electricity produced than does burning coal. The elimination of landfills diminishes Methane release to varying degrees depending on landfill technique, which may compensate for the combustion emissions. P 15. Fire risk reduction around communities potentially limits fire spreading into upland areas, reducing fire driven forest loss. Comment: The firebreak/fuel break perimeter management around communities works both ways for the good of community and environment. Water supply to these perimeter lands must be ensured to support grazing or agriculture or community gardens and, in case of fire, the assurance of firefighting potential.