Hawai`i State Legislature`s Third Attempt at Carbon Sequestration

Posted on February 18, 2025, by Henry Curtis

The Hawai`i State Legislature established the Carbon Farming Task Force in 2017, replaced it with the Hawai`i Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force in 2018, defunded the task force, re-funded the task force, transferred it to the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development (OPSD), and then defunded it again.

The Hawai`i Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force, often without funding, worked on greenhouse gas sequestration policies. Four Permitted Interaction Groups (PIGs) were created to examine carbon sequestration in Agriculture, Aquaculture, Marine Use, and the Urban Green Infrastructure.

Each PIG was targeted with identifying appropriate criteria to measure baseline levels, identify and make recommendations to establish short- and long-term greenhouse gas sequestration benchmarks, advocate for policies that provide economic benefits to the affected community, and make recommendations on financial incentives and funding mechanisms.

The Governor sponsored SB1336 and HB1017 to finally kill off the Hawai`i Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force which in turn had ended the Carbon Farming Task Force.

The Governor determined that the most likely way of sequestering carbon was to pre-select the winning carbon sequestration solution by combining it with geothermal exploration and development.

The Governor sponsored SB1339 and HB1020.

“The purpose of this Act is to require the Hawaii state energy office to implement a carbon sequestration and underground water resource characterization program that identifies the location and characteristics of underground water and carbon sequestration resources across the State and, in collaboration with the Hawaii groundwater and geothermal resources center at the university of Hawaii and director of business, economic development, and tourism, conduct an environmental assessment of the program’s actions and implement the program.”

The Hawaii State Energy Office would be given $33,000,000 over a two-year period to drill six to eight geothermal exploration holes. If the holes were successful, a private developer could then go into the geothermal business without repaying the cost of the taxpayer-funded exploration wells.

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism testified, "This measure serves to overcome obstacles that have limited Hawai‘i from fully developing its geothermal potential."

Legislators also introduced carbon sequestartion bills.

One approach is to require the Department of Agriculture to establish a Healthy Soils Program. The two bills, SB552 and HB968 were introduced by Senatr Gabbard and Representative Kahaloa.

Another approach is to codify and make permanent the Hawaiʻi Carbon Smart Land Management Assistance Program under the Department of Land and Natural Resources. The Senate bill was introduced by Senator Gabbard and the companion bill HB975 was introduced by Representatives Lowen, Kahaloa, Kusch, and Perruso.