NEWS

The Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PI-CASC) was created to address the challenges presented by climate change across Hawaiʻi and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) through co-produced, actionable science, where scientists collaborate with partners at every stage of the research process to ensure results meet on-the-ground needs. PI-CASC also aims to develop science to support policy and management decisions that promote sustainability, conservation, restoration, and adaptation. In recent years, PI-CASC has been involved in various capacities, providing climate expertise to help better inform policy, both locally and nationally.

Honolulu Climate Commission

At the local level, PI-CASC-affiliated researchers have served on the Honolulu Climate Commission, providing expertise in climate science to Honolulu city officials, including Dr. Rosanna Alegado (2017-2024), Dr. Victoria Keener (2017-2024), and Dr. Kirsten Olsen (2024-present). PI-CASC Consortium Deputy Director Dr. Bradley Romine (2022-present) has also served the commission for several years as an expert on coastal hazards. 

The Honolulu Climate Change Commission operates as an advisory body to provide guidance and recommendations to the mayor, the city council, and executive departments as they draft policy, engage in planning for future climate scenarios, and reduce Honolulu’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. The cohort is composed of five climate experts with diverse backgrounds and points of view. The Commission works collaboratively on products and guidance most useful to city officials and those in the community. These efforts involve synthesizing science literature and interviewing community members and other researchers to ensure the information is comprehensive and inclusive. Their work also incorporates feedback from the public.  “The goal is to make the guidance usable in a relatively easy, digestible format not only for the City and County members but also as a resource for the community,” said Romine.

Since its inception, the Commission has produced several guidance documents. For example, the One Water for Climate Resiliency White Paper, adopted into policy in 2020, promotes efficiency through coordinated management of different types of water flows. “Instead of considering wastewater, groundwater, drinking water, golf courses, and agriculture in silos, we take an integrated approach, so that we can manage water much more holistically,” said Keener. 

Some of the other products produced by the Commission were the Climate Change Brief, Sea Level Rise Guidance, Urban Heat Guidance, and Shoreline Setback Guidance, all adopted into policy. The Shoreline Setback Guidance made particular policy recommendations that contributed to the City’s updates to its shoreline construction setback ordinance. 

“As with all the outreach work I do, this was another venue to understand the concerns and priorities of our government partners and, more broadly, our communities,” said Romine. “It’s a two-way exchange. As so much of our work is about helping to get the information out there, it also really helps in our understanding of what the needs and concerns are,” he said.

While the subjects tackled in the beginning years were big, well-known topics such as sea-level rise, more recently, the Commission has been honing in on more specific issues such as equity and human health, which are less broadly known areas affected by climate change that also need to be addressed.

National Climate Assessment

Reaching beyond local decision-makers to those on a national scale, PI-CASC representatives were among the 16 authors and 41 technical contributors who produced the Hawai‘i and U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA 5) released in 2023. PI-CASC Regional Administrator Dr. Mari-Vaughn Johnson also served as the federal coordinating lead author and PI-CASC University of Guam Lead Dr. Romina King was a chapter author.

Mandated in the Global Change Research Act of 1990, the National Climate Assessment provides authoritative scientific information about climate change risks, impacts, and responses in the U.S. The assessment reflects the scientific consensus and is widely used for decision-making but does not include policy recommendations nor advocate for any specific policy.

Among other things, the assessment highlighted efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and climate change in the Pacific Islands. It also focused on human health and emphasized the necessity for food security, integration of Indigenous Knowledge, and recognition of data inequities for the Pacific Islands and U.S. Caribbean.

Johnson and King were recently tapped for the Sixth National Climate Assessment (NCA 6) to serve again as federal coordinating lead and chapter lead author, respectively. In these roles, they will guide and facilitate a team of authors in compiling and synthesizing climate data in the Hawaiʻi and USAPI region. The NCA 6 is expected to be finalized and released in late 2027.

PI-CASC remains committed to ensuring its funded science continues to fill the needs of the local, state, and regional communities of the Pacific.