The 50th State Just Came in First
Hawaii became the first of the United States to declare a “climate emergency."
Kate YoderAssociate Editor
Published Apr 30, 2021
It’s Friday, April 30, and the Aloha State just raised the alarm.
The word “emergency” usually conjures images of ambulances with flashing lights, homes going up in flames, or tornadoes tearing through a town. Increasingly, governments are using the word to describe a slower-burning crisis: climate change.
On Thursday, Hawaii became the first of the United States to declare a “climate emergency,” joining 1,933 cities, town councils, and countries, including the European Union. Introduced by state Senator Mike Gabbard (former presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard’s dad), the non-binding emergency resolution calls for an immediate, statewide mobilization “that is rooted in equity, self-determination, culture, tradition.”
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the country’s only island-chain state, and the only one located in the tropics, is acknowledging the need for drastic action on climate change. The archipelago faces dwindling freshwater supplies, rising seas washing away coastlines, and the double whammy of extreme drought and flooding as dry areas get drier and wet areas get wetter. Hawaii’s coral reefs are expected to virtually disappear by the end of the century, according to the 2018 National Climate Assessment.
The emergency declaration sets the stage for more states to acknowledge the urgency of the climate crisis. “Hawaii was the first state to pass a 100-percent clean, renewable energy goal,” Gabbard said during a Zoom press conference. “Since then, 16 states have followed our lead. So hopefully other states will get on board.”
