Honolulu Climate Change Commission holds first meeting

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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM

Shown at the first meeting of the Climate Change Commission at Honolulu Hale on Wednesday are Chairwoman Makena Coffman, left, corporation counsel Courtney K. Sue-Ako, Victoria Keener and Bettina Mehnert. Not pictured but also on the committee are Rosanna Alegado and Vice Chairman Charles “Chip” Fletcher.

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The newly minted Honolulu Climate Change Commission met for the first time Wednesday, electing a chairman and vowing to make addressing the impact of sea level rise on Oahu its first order of business.

Makena Coffman, who heads the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and has expertise in greenhouse gas mitigation, energy policy and alternative transportation strategies, was elected chairwoman of the five-member commission.

Charles “Chip” Fletcher, associate dean for academic affairs at the UH-Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science Technology and an expert in earth science and climate change on Pacific islands, was selected as the panel’s vice chairman.

Two of the other three members of the commission, who were appointed by Mayor Kirk Caldwell and approved by the Honolulu City Council, are also academics. Rosanna Alegado is principal investigator for the UH Alegado lab, which is looking into the role of microbial communities on coastal waters. Victoria Keener is lead principal investigator for the Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments program and a specialist in hydro-climatological research and the effects of climate variability. Bettina Mehnert is an architect, is president and CEO of the design firm AHL, and works with the Urban Land Institute, Hawai‘i Green Growth and the Sustainable Business Forum.

Oahu voters created the climate commission after approving an amendment to the City Charter in 2016. The commission is tasked with gathering up-to-date science and information regarding the impacts of climate change on Oahu and the state, and to provide recommendations to the Caldwell administration and the Council for policies and legislation to meet future climate scenarios.

The commission will work hand in hand with the city Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency, headed by Chief Resilience Officer Josh Stanbro.

Commissioners will meet again at 3 p.m. March 13, when they will begin discussing sea level rise.

Fletcher said they will invite members of the state Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission, which released a 304-page report on the issue late last year. That commission is co-chaired by state Land Board Chairwoman Suzanne Case and state Office of Planning Director Leo Asuncion.