West

Hawai‘i

As a small island state with non-energy intensive industries and a mild climate, Hawai‘i ranks almost last for both total and per capita energy consumption among all states. The state was the first to legally commit to a zero-emissions economy by 2045 and has decreased emissions by 19% from 2005-2021. Both in-state electricity generation and consumption are dominated by petroleum, with about one-fifth of generation coming from renewables, a majority of which is solar. Hawai‘i has the highest average electricity price of any state because of high fuel import costs.

GHG Reduction Targets

All targets relative to 2005 levels

2030

50%

2045

Carbon negative

Governor

Josh Green (Democrat)

House Party

Democratic Supermajority

Senate Party

Democratic Supermajority

Legislative session

1/17/24 - 5/3/24

US Climate Alliance Status

Member

Key Offices & Links

21

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 6 policy areas

See all

41

Policy Opportunities

across 6 policy areas

See all

West

11 states

This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Compare with other states

Progress by Policy Area

Enacted
In-progress
Partially Enacted
Not Enacted

Glossary of Terms

Status	Policy	Policy Area	Policy Category	YR Enacted
Enacted	Commercial Energy Codes Empty column The statewide energy code for commercial building construction is 2018 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2016. Establishing Policies Hawai‘i State Energy Code (2021)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2021
Enacted	Residential Energy Codes Empty column The statewide energy code for residential construction is 2018 IECC with amendments. Establishing Policies Hawai‘i State Energy Code (2021)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2021
Not Enacted	Stretch Building Energy Codes Empty column Stretch building energy codes are an optional, more stringent building code established by the state that local jurisdictions can adopt to require that newly constructed buildings are more efficient than the baseline state codes.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes
Enacted	Appliance Standards Empty column The Hawai‘i Appliance Efficiency Standards apply to 10 products. Establishing Policies Act 141 (2019) SB 691 (2023) HB 192 (2023) Hawai‘i Appliance Efficiency Standards	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards	2023
In-Progress	Building Performance Standards Empty column Hawaii will receive $18.1M to develop and adopt a building performance standard through the federal Inflation Reduction Act Support for Building Energy Codes and Innovative Codes. Establishing Policies Inflation Reduction Act Support for Building Energy Codes and Innovative Codes – Round 1 (2024)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Not Enacted	Clean Heat Standards Empty column Clean heat standards establish a performance standard requiring heat providers to deliver a gradually-increasing percentage of low-emission heating services to customers.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Enacted	Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS) Empty column Electric utilities are required to achieve annual savings equivalent to 1.4% of electricity sales; utilities must achieve a 30% reduction in electricity usage by 2030, relative to a 2008 baseline. Gas utilities are not subject to an EERS. Establishing Policies HRS §269-96 (2009) Hawaii Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency	2020
In-Progress	Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Empty column Hawaii has enacted commercial PACE-enabling legislation and is developing programs. Establishing Policies HB 2088 (2022)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency	2022
Partially Enacted	Weatherization Funding Empty column The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies SPOT - Weatherization Funding in Hawai‘i Policy Components not-enacted enacted not-enacted not-enacted 1/4	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency
Not Enacted	All-Electric Buildings Empty column All-electric buildings policies require new buildings to be constructed with all-electric heating, cooling, and cooking systems to transition away from fossil-fuel use in buildings.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Electrification

Hawai‘i

Key Offices & Links

21

41

West

Progress by Policy Area

Climate Governance and Equity

Cross-Sector

Electricity

Buildings and Efficiency

Transportation

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management

Natural and Working Lands