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Hawaiʻi Green Fee represents an opportunity to keep our home resilient, safe, and healthy.

The health of Hawaiʻi’s environment is inextricably linked to the health of our people, communities, economy, and future generations. With Hawaiʻi Green Fee enacted, it is critical that fund implementation and the initial years of projects are established with care.

Read on to learn how Hawaiʻi Green Fee works, and what our coalition is standing for as Act 96 is built.

Our Objectives

As the group representing the frontline community groups working in natural and cultural resource protection, we are committed to advocating for a strong, transparent, and equitable green fee fund. There is a window of opportunity to voice our input as the fund is stood up for the first time, and we are pushing for four main elements.

How it’s collected

Hawaiʻi Green Fee is generated through a 0.75% increase to the Transient Accommodation Tax, a tax administered during booking of hotel rooms, short-term rentals, and for the first time, cruise ship cabins. This increase takes effect on January 1, 2026. For a $400 hotel room, this tax increase translates to around $3 per night, and is expected to generate ~$100 million each year.

What it does

Act 96 mandates the funding is split evenly across three buckets: Sustainable Tourism, Natural Resource Stewardship, and Climate Resilience. Each year, the Governor submits a list of projects to fund in his Executive Supplemental Budget, with the legislature ultimately deciding what is funded in the final State Budget. This process will happen each year, and be determined each legislative session.

Project Recommendation Process

In 2025, Governor Green established the Green Fee Advisory Council, who is responsible for providing the recommended projects for the Supplement Budget.

The council is made up of 10 individuals who work across conservation, community solutions, regenerative tourism, hospitality, and climate preparedness.

Learn more about the council here.

Future of Hawai’i Green Fee

While Act 96 begins the journey toward resourcing climate solutions in Hawai’i, the research emphasizes that we still currently face a conservation funding gap of $560 million/year. In order to address this liability and ensure we keep our communities safe, additional revenue generation solutions must complement Act 96.

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