News
The latest updates and information about the work of the Green Fee Advisory Council.
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Hotel industry leaders push for bigger marketing, Green Fee as Hawaii fights to regain momentum
By Jill Kuramoto for KHON2 News
Hawaii’s visitor industry may be showing signs of life, but hotel industry leaders say the road to full recovery is still far from smooth.
Cautious optimism amongst growing competition is the general feeling amongst industry leaders who gathered today at the annual hospitality conference at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, hosted by the American Hotel and Lodging Association…
…Meanwhile, hotel leaders are backing a proposed “green fee” — expected to generate roughly $100 million — to restore beaches, protect shorelines and invest in infrastructure.
$7 million in Waikiki Beach replenishment was recently proposed by an advisory committee.
Funding Stewardship at Scale
By Kalani Kaʻanaʻana for Hawaiʻi Business Magazine
On any given day in Hawaiʻi, signs of strain are visible. Trails show wear from heavy use. Reefs experience stress from warming waters and sediment runoff. Forested areas continue to face pressures from invasive species, alongside growing wildfire risk. Cultural sites are visited often, while stewardship resources remain limited. These patterns are not isolated. Together, they point to a broader reality: the natural and cultural systems that sustain Hawaiʻi have operated for decades without a funding structure that fully reflects how much we depend on them.
Act 96, SLH 2025, introduces what has been described as the nation’s first climate impact fee, often called the Green Fee. As of January 1, 2026, the law increased the Transient Accommodations Tax by 0.75 percent and directs new revenue toward natural resource management, climate and hazard resilience, and sustainable tourism systems. The intent is to establish a more predictable funding source for systems that support Hawaiʻi’s environmental, cultural, and economic well-being.
Column: Put Hawaii’s green fee actions on GRID
By John Leong and Ulu Ching for Honolulu Star-Advertiser
As members of the Care for ‘Aina Now coalition advocating for the green fee, we are encouraged that Hawaii is a significant step closer to the long-term protection of its natural and cultural resources.
The creation of Hawaii’s green fee reflects a shared understanding that while our natural beauty welcomes every visitor, each visit brings both benefits and costs. A small contribution helps ensure that the places people come to enjoy are cared for and sustained over time. In most cases, the green fee amounts to only a few dollars per trip, yet it is designed to support environmental protection, climate resilience, and long-term stewardship across the islands.
Passing the fee was an important act of leadership, but it is only the beginning. What will ultimately determine success is whether residents and visitors can see the positive outcomes these funds make possible. Green fee revenues will support critical work across multiple state agencies in partnership with community partners, including reef restoration, invasive species management, watershed protection, climate adaptation and infrastructure improvements. Yet today, there is no simple way for the public to understand where the money goes or what it is accomplishing as a whole.
Governor Asks Lawmakers For $126M In Green Fee Projects
By Kevin Dayton for Honolulu Civil Beat
Gov. Josh Green has described the new green fee to fund environmental protection projects and cope with climate threats as “the biggest and perhaps most exciting change” happening in state government.
Environmental initiatives are crowd-pleasers, and the green fee windfall has definitely caused a stir at the State Capitol. But lawmakers are also asking some tough questions about the administration’s plans for that juicy new source of funding
The administration on Wednesday proposed $126 million in projects Green intends to finance with money from the new fee, ranging from $1 million to close out cesspools in Hōnaunau on the Big Island to nearly $20 million for beach restoration projects at Ala Moana, Waikīkī and in West Maui.
Spotlight Now: Green Fee Advisory Council on where $100M+ should go
By Yunji de Nies for Hawaiʻi News Now
On this edition of Spotlight Now, Green Fee Advisory Council members Eric Co and Dr. Chip Fletcher discussed how the $100 million or more should be spent.
Last year, Gov. Josh Green signed Act 96, which increases taxes on hotel guests and vacation rental visitors.
According to Co, environmental improvement efforts, climate-resilient infrastructure, and sustainable tourism should receive funding.
Each effort should show tangible results, reduce harm, be ready in a reasonable timeframe, and build community relationships, said Co.
“All of us in Hawaii know that we can do a lot with a little because were so collaborative,” said Co.
Hawaii's 'Green Fee' plans fund Waikiki beach restoration
By Jai Cunningham for KITV 4 Island News
The state's "Green Fee" is generating over $126 million for sustainable tourism, climate resilience, and environmental stewardship. How will this funding reshape Hawaii's natural resources?
Group outlines spending plan for new climate change tax
By Dan Nakaso for Honolulu Star-Advertiser
The new Green Fee Advisory Council had to choose from among more than $2 billion worth of funding requests to help Hawaii respond to climate change, but will only have $100 million or so annually to recommend through the first statewide tax of its kind in the country, which has been collecting revenue since Jan. 1.
The Council received over 600 requests in all from government departments and agencies, community groups and nonprofit organizations — many of whom are already working on projects across the state and need more support.
Gov. Josh Green signed the so-called “Green Fee” into law last year as Act 96. It increases the state’s transient accommodation tax by .075% — to 11% — on overnight lodgings for everyone, including local residents.
Webinar Recap: Understanding the Green Fee Funding Recommendations
On February 2, 2026, the Green Fee Advisory Council hosted its third public webinar to explain how its funding recommendations for the 2026 legislative session were developed and to answer questions from the community.
The webinar was intended to provide transparency into the Council’s evaluation process, reiterate its advisory role and outline what happens next as the Legislature considers final appropriations.
With $130M in new ‘green fees’ expected, Hawaiʻi eyes 75 projects to address a long list of environment-related needs
By Colleen Uechi for Maui Now
An advisory council created by Gov. Josh Green to help the State of Hawai‘i decide how to spend hundreds of millions in new funding from a first-of-its-kind climate impact tax has recommended 75 priority projects for the first round.
Since convening in August, the 10 volunteer members of the council have combed through more than 600 applications from state agencies, environmental organizations and other community groups requesting more than $2 billion for projects aimed at environmental stewardship, climate and hazard resilience, and sustainable tourism. Many of the recommended projects were spurred by the Maui wildfires and would help address needs such as brush management and hazard prevention data.
Green Fee Advisory Council shares Green Fee funding recommendations for 2026 legislative session
The Green Fee Advisory Council has released its funding recommendations for the 2026 legislative session in its Recommendations Report, outlining how Green Fee revenues can be best invested to address the state's environmental, climate resilience and sustainable tourism needs. The report explains how projects were evaluated and describes how these recommendations informed the final list of recommendations transmitted by Governor Green to the legislature.
Courts Blocked Green Fee For Cruises. This Company Is Still Charging It
By Marcel Honoré for Honolulu Civil Beat
At least one cruise line has started charging its passengers Hawaiʻi’s tax on visitor stays and the new, landmark environmental “green fee” that goes with it, even though a court order currently bars local tax officials from collecting those dollars on cruise stays.
That decision by Norwegian Cruise Lines comes as the cruise industry simultaneously tries to overturn in court the parts of Hawaiʻi’s new green fee law that require ships to pay the same transient accommodations tax as hotel and vacation rental owners. Federal appellate judges issued the injunction against the tax collections on cruise ships on New Year’s Eve, hours before they were to take effect.
Norwegian representatives say the company will refund its passengers if the industry ultimately prevails in court.
How Hawaiʻi might spend funds from new climate tax on hotel stays
By Bill Dorman for Hawaiʻi Public Radio
The Hawaiʻi Legislature opens for business on Jan. 21. Between now and the opening session, HPR will be hearing a lot about plans and priorities. From federal funding cuts to climate change, a lot of those priorities focus on Hawaiʻi's environment.
Top of the list: the “Green Fee,” a new revenue source, as of Jan. 1, funded by a 0.75 percentage point increase in the transient accommodations tax. It's expected to raise about $100 million a year.
What's the most effective way to spend that money? That’s a question that faced the state’s Green Fee Advisory Council — a 10-member group making recommendations on where and how to spend this revenue.
The council is chaired by Jeff Mikulina, a longtime environmental activist and policy specialist who’s also executive director of Climate Hawaiʻi. He sat down with The Conversation to discuss those recommendations, how the money will be spent, and a bit about the people who have been looking at the options.
Climate security threats to Hawaii outlined in report
By Kevin Knodell for Honolulu Star-Advertiser
As 2025 came to an end, a climate report released by the Council on Strategic Risks outlined how climate change could threaten both Hawaii’s civilian and military communities, and how cuts to programs that monitor weather and other environmental threats could leave both more vulnerable.
The report by CSR — a non-partisan security policy institute based in Washington, D.C. — warns that “with its diverse landscapes and geographic isolation, Hawai‘i is exceptionally vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Shifting rainfall and seasonal patterns affect local food security and biodiversity; heat and drought stress water supplies, impacting human health and increasing wildfire risk; and coastal flooding and inundation threaten economic security, including infrastructure, agriculture, and tourism.”
Federal ruling blocks Hawaii’s climate change tourist tax on cruise ships
By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher for The Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) — A federal appeals court ruling on New Year’s Eve blocked Hawaii from enforcing a climate change tourist tax on cruise ships passengers, a levy that was set to go into effect at the start of 2026.
Cruise Lines International Association challenged the tax in a lawsuit, arguing that the new law violates the U.S. Constitution by taxing cruise ships for entering Hawaii ports. They also argued it would make cruises more expensive. The lawsuit notes the law authorizes counties to collect an additional 3% surcharge, bringing the total to 14% of prorated fares.
Climate change tax on hotels, cruise ships set to go into effect
By Ashley Mizuo for Hawaiʻi Public Radio
The state’s Green Fee on hotels and cruise ships to pay for climate resilience projects will go into effect in the new year. A court ruling largely dismissed a lawsuit by the cruise ship industry challenging the policy.
The Green Fee increases the state’s visitor tax by 0.75 percentage points to fund climate resiliency and sustainable tourism projects.
It also levies the tax on cruise ships docking in Hawaiʻi, which previously did not have to pay the state transient accommodations tax, now at 11%.
State’s new ‘Green fee’ will be allowed to take effect as scheduled after court ruling
By Nathan Christophel for Big Island Now
U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaiʻi earlier this week dismissed a majority of claims challenging the state’s Act 96, signed by Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green in May, and denied a plaintiff motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the act from taking effect at the beginning of next year.
“In short, the court declines at this stage to halt the implementation of the transient accommodation tax on cruise ships in Hawai‘i,” wrote U.S. District Judge Jill Otake in her ruling, which she issued Tuesday (Dec. 23).
As a result, the state’s new “Green fee” will go into effect Jan. 1, 2026, as planned. It also means the lawsuit — which was filed Aug. 27 — will likely still be undecided even as Act 96 is put into action.
Hawaii’s ‘green fee’ clears legal hurdle
By Allison Schaefers for Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Hawaii’s so-called green fee is set to take effect as scheduled Jan. 1 after a federal judge dismissed most of the cruise industry’s legal challenge to Act 96 and denied its request to block implementation.
U.S. District Court Judge Jill A. Otake on Tuesday rejected the bulk of claims brought by the Cruise Lines International Association and the federal government, allowing the state to move forward with implementing the new tax. While several issues will continue in court, Otake’s decision for now allows the law to extend the transient accommodations tax to cruise ships.
Green Fee to take effect on Jan. 1
By Michael Tsai for Spectrum News
“We must protect and preserve Hawaii’s natural resources and safeguard the health of our residents,” said Gov. Josh Green, in a statement released on Tuesday. “Visitors who benefit from our island’s resources have a shared responsibility to help preserve them. The Green Fee ensures that the resources needed to protect Hawaii are available for future generations.”
Act 96 (formerly Senate Bill 1396), passed by the state Legislature and enacted by Green earlier this year, establishes the nation’s first climate impact fee. The new law increases the existing transient accommodations tax rate by 0.75% beginning in 2026 and levies, for the first time, the TAT on cruise ships that port in the state.
Funds generated by the Green Fee will be used to build resiliency against the impacts of climate change by funding environmental stewardship, hazard mitigation and sustainable tourism.
Hawaii’s new tourist tax survives legal challenge, set to take effect soon
By HNN Staff
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - After clearing legal hurdles, a new state law imposing higher taxes for tourists is on track to go into effect in the new year.
The Green Fee will increase the transient accommodation tax (TAT) for visitors by 0.75%, raising it to 11%. Counties can also tack on a 3% surcharge.
For the first time, the new rule will also require cruise ship passengers to pay the TAT, in addition to visitors staying in hotel rooms and short-term rentals.
On Tuesday, Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced a federal judge dismissed most of the lawsuits filed against the Green Fee.
