An indigenous Hawaiian senator has welcomed a bill drafted earlier this year to enable Hawai'i to sign up to the Paris climate change accord has now become law.
Hawai'i is the first state in the United States to enact legislation to allow it to implement parts of an agreement to reduce carbon emissions and the effects of climate change.
Hawaiian senator Kalani English Photo: flickr
In the wake of president Donald Trump pulling the US out of the deal Hawai'i senator Kalani English said many people were overjoyed the state has passed the bill and the governor of Hawai'i has signed it into law.
"I put a bill into the Legislature that basically has us acceding to the provisions of the Paris Accord and setting up our own systems, a commission etcetera," he said.
"So the bill passed, and the governor has signed it and so it was just the timing was very good for us.
"But it was also very good policy and it also helps us to integrate back to the Pacific so we can work closer with the Pacific Islands and other countries in the region, because we have a shared ocean."
Senator Kalani English said there had been a lot of support for Hawai'i's move during the UN Oceans Conference in New York.