July 30, 2018
The Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Martin Chungong, recently visited Hawaii to meet with the Hawaii State Senate and Amanda Ellis, the Director of Strategic Partnerships throughout Hawaii and Asia Pacific for Arizona State University’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability. The official visit was in preparation for an upcoming collaborative project to help legislators from 178 parliaments better meet their commitments to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Hawaii is a leader in sustainable development, making the state an ideal place to convene. In 2015, Hawaii became the first state with a law requiring that 100% of its energy be generated by renewable sources. The law was passed after a successful Blue Planet Foundation campaign in which legislators were sent drawings and letters from more than 500 students, teachers and community members in support of renewable energy. Hawaii will achieve this goal by 2045.
According to Ellis, Chungong was impressed with Hawaii's multi-stakeholder commitment to the SDGs through the Aloha+ Challenge, a statewide framework to achieve six sustainability goals, including clean energy transformation, natural resource management and solid waste reduction, by 2030. Hawaii Green Growth manages the online dashboard that displays Hawaii’s progress in accomplishing these goals, which encompass all 17 SDGs.
The joint SDGs project that Ellis and Chungong discussed during their meeting is a collaboration between the ASU Wrigley Institute, the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, EdPlus and other partners including the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Council of Women World Leaders and the Women Political Leaders Global Forum.
Top photo: From left: Hawaii Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English, Amanda Ellis, Marshall Islands visitor being trained in Hawaii, Martin Chungong, Marshall Islands visitor being trained in Hawaii, Hawaii Senate Chief Clerk Carol Taniguchi