HONOLULU – Four mayors in Hawaii pledged to eliminate the use of fossil-fuel-powered ground transportation vehicles by 2045.

The plan announced Tuesday is to have private state vehicles fueled by renewable energy by 2035 and public vehicles by 2045, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported .

The plan does not apply to air or sea transportation. Ground transportation accounts for more than 25 per cent of the state’s consumption of imported fossil fuels.

Josh Stanbro, Honolulu’s chief resilience officer, said renewable energy is not just smart from an environmental standpoint, but it should also save the government money.

The electric vehicles that the city uses today cost a third less in operation and maintenance costs than do fossil-fueled counterparts, Stanbro said.

Motor vehicle manufacturers already have begun to go electric only, Stanbro said. Swedish automaker Volvo pledged this past summer to build only electric or hybrid vehicles starting in 2019. Tesla started as an electric-vehicle-only manufacturer in 2003.

“Human activity created climate change, and human action’s going to reverse it,” Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said.

Honolulu’s upcoming rail line will be electric and the city will begin converting its 500-plus bus fleet to all-electric beginning in January, Caldwell said.

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Information from: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, http://www.staradvertiser.com