Windward Hui Sets Climate Change Summit Sunday In Kailua

Climate change is a big deal — and not enough people understand just how big a deal it is, according to Andrea Jepson.

That’s why she helped put together the Windward Climate Change Summit, to be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday in Kailua Elementary School cafeteria.

“It was organized by four or five of us who went to a briefing at the Capitol and felt that this was information that we needed to make available for this side, on a day when people could come,” Jepson explained.

Windward Climate Change Hui, which includes Jepson, Lois Crozer, Julianne King, Lisa Marten and Aubrey Yee, organized the summit, which will have guest speakers discussing two main topics on climate change: what’s going on now, and what the next steps need to be.

Speakers include Stuart Scott, deputy secretary general of International Ecological Safety Collaborative Organization; UH faculty Dolan Eversole and Camilo Mora; Jeff Mikulina, executive director of Blue Planet Foundation; Colin Yost, CEO of RevoluSun; Doug Cole, executive director of North Shore Community Land Trust; and Gerald Marten, director of Eco Tipping Points Project.

There also will be time for attendees to sign up with other Windward conservation groups. Jepson emphasized that the hui wants to funnel people toward the groups already active, and not create a brand-new one.

“There are a lot of people doing things, but not a lot of people who understand the urgency of what’s going on right now, including the four of us who organized this. When we went to that first summit, it was kind of shocking,” Jepson admitted.

Interested participants should RSVP at windwardclimate.brownpapertickets.com.

“We have close to 100 responses for the event already (as of Nov. 12), so there’s a lot of interest in the Windward side,” Jepson noted. No more than 300 can attend, so she encourages people to reserve a spot now.