The City and County of Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency – known as the Resilience Office – was recently awarded $1 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help expand its Climate Champions Program.
“The EPA is excited that this award will develop and implement a meaningful approach that builds climate resilience collaboration between community-based organizations and Honolulu,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman in a Feb. 9 statement from the Resilience Office. “We expect these projects to enhance environmental justice by developing a more equitable model of climate adaptation that positively impacts communities that are disproportionality burdened by environmental harms.”
Thanks to the grant, The Climate Champions Program will be extended to 2026 with six community-based organizations, including Kualoa-Heeia Ecumenical Youth (KEY) Project, Trees for Honolulu’s Future, Malama Loko Ea Foundation, Mala Ai Opio (MAO) Organic Farms, Malama Learning Center and the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization.
“I have tasked our team with tackling community equity, optimizing federal resources, and driving climate adaptation initiatives — this program epitomizes the power of collaboration,” Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said in a statement. “When community leadership, city objectives and resources are harmonized, the possibilities for climate adaptation efforts on our island are boundless.”
The Climate Champions Program, which was piloted in 2023, aims to match local organizations with various “Climate Champions” from the community to implement a project that adapts “to the impacts of changing climate,” officials with the Resilience Office stated.
Officials noted the program was initially launched “to build greater collaboration between the community and the city on shared goals, spread awareness of local climate impacts and adaptation solutions and foster community ownership of climate adaptation efforts.”
The funding from the EPA “will support projects that will make the community safer and more prepared and will advance the organizations missions as well as implement aspects of the city’s first-ever climate adaptation strategy, Climate Ready Oahu,” said Alexander Yee, coastal and water program manager for the Resilience Office, in a statement.
Climate Ready Oahu addresses sea level rise and coastal erosion, rising temperatures and extreme heat, flash flooding, drought and wildfire and hurricanes.
The Resilience Office is currently hiring for a Climate Champions Program coordinator and will be begin recruiting for seven Climate Champion interns this spring, officials stated.
For more information, visit climatereadyoahu.org/climate-champions.
