Our Commitments
Climate Mayors Congressional Letter
Former mayor Kirk Caldwell, in his role on the Steering Committee of the national Climate Mayors network, directed a letter with nearly 200 other mayors to Congressional leaders urging bold action to protect our planet and build a more just economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Representing a network of 461 U.S. mayors across the country committed to upholding the Paris climate agreement, Climate Mayors called on Congress to invest in an economic recovery that injects more resilience, equity, and sustainability into our communities.
Paris Agreement
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the "Paris Agreement") brings together 197 countries under a common framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, limiting global temperature rise to well below two degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.
Chicago Climate Charter
Championed and organized by Climate Mayors, the We Are Still In Campaign, and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy ("Global Covenant") demonstrate the goal to reduce emissions by 2.72 Gigatons CO2e by 2030 or the equivalent of taking over 585 million cars off the road.
Mayor Caldwell’s commitment to 35% canopy cover by year 2035
Accelerated by former mayor Kirk Caldwell’s commitment as a signatory to the Chicago Climate Charter in December 2017, the City is committed to obtain a 35 percent canopy cover in urban areas by the year 2035, with the additional goal to plant 100,000 new tress by 2025. Currently, the island’s urban areas have a canopy cover of approximately 25 percent.
Mayor Caldwell’s shared goal of 100% renewable ground transportation by 2045
Ground transportation accounts for over one-quarter of Hawaiʻi’s imported fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Honolulu’s former mayor Kirk Caldwell, Maui County former mayor Alan Arakawa, Kauaʻi County former mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. and Hawaiʻi County former Managing Director Wil Okabe, representing former mayor Harry Kim, pledged to transform Hawaiʻi’s public and private ground transportation to 100 percent renewable fuel sources by 2045.
Honolulu becomes a member of Powering Past Coal Alliance
Former mayor Kirk Caldwell has been an advocate for climate action, and highlighted energy conservation as one of his top priorities for mayor. As part of the “We Are Still In” initiative, the Resilience Office of is developing the city’s first-ever climate action and adaptation plan to uphold the goals of the Paris Agreement.