Carbon Cashback Needs Your Testimony!

Please submit testimony in support of HB760, the Carbon Cashback bill, which will reduce climate pollution and make Hawai‘i more energy-independent while financially benefiting lower-income families. The deadline is Monday at 10:00 am!

Submitting written testimony is EASY

Testifying in person or by Zoom requires more effort but has a BIG IMPACT

You’ll be prompted to create an account with the State Legislature if you don’t have one already

Hearing:  Tuesday, January 28, 2025, 10:00 am, Conference Room 325 or via Zoom

Committees:  House Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection (EEP) and House Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems (AGR)

Deadline to submit testimony:  Monday, January 27, 2025, 10:00 am

Your testimony can be a simple indication of support or a more detailed explanation of why the bill is important to you. Please feel free to use the sample testimony or talking points below, or develop your own, and it would be especially valuable to include your own climate story on why it’s important to take action (e.g., the future of your children and grandchildren; a livable planet).

Aloha Chair Lowen, Chair Kahaloa, and members of the EEP and AGR committees:

I strongly support this bill because it reduces climate pollution and increases Hawai‘i’s energy independence while protecting vulnerable kama‘aina families.

The bill places a carbon fee on fossil fuels, incentivizing businesses and individuals to use less fossil fuels, the emissions from which are warming the Earth and creating climate havoc in Hawai‘i and globally.

The carbon fee revenues are used to fund a climate rebate that is distributed to Hawai‘i tax filers. The climate rebate makes the bill progressive and protects vulnerable lower-income families.

The bill is simple to administer because it relies on existing mechanisms to collect the carbon fee and distribute the climate rebates.

Hawai‘i must take a multi-pronged approach to reduce carbon emissions and lessen our dependence on fossil fuels that are subject to the price volatility of the global market. This bill helps achieve those goals efficiently and equitably, and works well with other policy approaches.

Mahalo! 

[Your Name, Town]

Feel free to draw from the following talking points:

  • Urgent effective action on climate change is needed to maintain the livability of Hawai‘i and of our planet.

  • Carbon cashback benefits lower-income households.

  • Families receive their climate rebates upfront—for the 2025 tax year, while the carbon fee does not start until 2026, starting low and increasing gradually.

  • Carbon cashback delivers emission reductions consistent with Hawai‘i’s goals.

  • Carbon cashback strengthens and complements other emission reduction programs.

  • Carbon cashback reduces our dependence on imported fossil fuels, making Hawai‘i more energy-independent.

  • Carbon cashback is good for the economy.

  • Carbon cashback is easy to implement because it uses existing administrative mechanisms.

  • Carbon pricing is efficient—it pays for itself.

  • Carbon pricing has been successful elsewhere.

  • Carbon cashback brings along visitors as part of the solution. 

  • Carbon pricing is effective and has broad support.

  • Carbon cashback implements keyrecommendations of Hawai‘i’s 2020-2022 Tax Review Commission and the Hawai‘i State Energy Office