Teens who Sued Hawai’i Demand Electric Planes by 2045

In 2024, Hawai’i saw a landmark settlement approved by the Hawai‘i Circuit Court that required the Hawai’i Department of Transportation (HDOT) to achieve a ‘“Zero Emissions Target’ for ground, sea and air interisland transportation sectors by 2045.” Now, the plaintiffs in the historic Navahine settlement, a group of teenagers, are pushing back against HDOT’s plan to use sustainable aviation fuel or SAF (the airplane equivalent of biodiesel often made from corn ethanol) for interisland flights. Honolulu Civil Beat reports the story. 

“The department’s proposed plan to use the fuel aligns with the view of the aviation industry and fuel producers — as well as a local grower of oily plants that can be converted into sustainable aviation fuel — that SAF is the most practical choice to reduce emissions. But the plaintiffs have a different view,” writes Stewart Yerton. 

“The bottom line is to be completely carbon or 100% emission free by 2045: that’s just the bottom line,” Rylee Brooke Kamahele, a 17-year-old plaintiff told HCB. While the settlement names SAF as a solution to meet interim targets, the plaintiffs argue for electric planes as a long term solution — technology HDOT says is simply too far out to meet the target in within 20 years.