Protecting Hawaii’s natural environment is very important to all of us living here in this delicate ecosystem that is the Hawaiian island chain. That’s why the State’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions for 2020 is so important, and we’re happy to hear from a recent report that the State is indeed on track to reach their goal in doing its part to help save the planet.

According to the Hawaii Department of Health’s “Hawaii Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report,” the State is on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to equal or below the 1990 levels, a goal that the state legislature made about 12 years ago.

The report uses data from the 2015 greenhouse gas emissions assessment, that focused mainly on carbon dioxide, as well as data on “sinks,” which remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Sinks, made accessible from Kyoto protocol, includes carbon offset activities such as reforestation and urban tree planting.

Some of the key findings in the report include most of the greenhouse gas emissions come from the State’s transportation sector. Also, a decrease in domestic marine, domestic aviation, and military emissions that contributed to a 20% decrease in transportation emissions from 2007 to 2015 offset an increase in ground transportation emissions.

That’s great news! The report also found that agriculture and other land use, which includes emissions and sinks from agricultural activities, land use, changes in land use and land management practices made up for 5% of the statewide emissions in 2015. Waste and emissions from waste management accounted for 4% of statewide emissions in 2015.

The report also says the definite decrease is likely to continue and the State is on its way to meeting its goal of achieving 100% clean energy by 2045.

We hope all of us here in Hawaii and Maui continue to work together to affect change here positively. Maintaining our island’s beauty is very important to all of us here, including you new homeowners. If you’re looking into buying real estate here on the island, then make sure to contact us and let us know what it is you’re looking for in a new luxury home on Maui. Check out our latest listings by using our real estate map and see what’s for sale on Maui. We can’t wait to hear from you soon and keep checking back to our weekly blog for your latest in real estate and news.