EXPLAINER A group of children and young activists has won a constitutional case forcing a government department to curb emissions from the transport sector in Hawaii. In an historic settlement of a climate change lawsuit brought by 13 children and young activists in 2022, the Hawaiian department of transport agreed on Thursday to decarbonise its transport sector with a goal of reaching zero emissions by 2045. Hawaii was already aiming for carbon neutrality by 2045, which means balancing the carbon emitted into the atmosphere by capturing or offsetting it. But this settlement forces the department to go further by halting carbon emissions altogether. The settlement has been hailed as groundbreaking. “[This] is the world’s first youth-led constitutional climate case addressing climate pollution from the transportation sector,” said Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organisation, after the settlement was announced. Hearings for the case were due to begin on Monday next week, but will no longer go ahead. What was the Hawaii climate lawsuit about? A group of children and young people filed the lawsuit, Navahine v …