The US state of Hawaii has decided to raise the tax on hotel and other accommodation stays to fund climate change measures.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green signed the legislation on Tuesday.
Starting in January next year, the state’s Transient Accommodation Tax will be raised from the current 10.25 percent to 11 percent.
The estimated additional annual revenue of 100 million dollars will be used for measures such as mitigating the impact of wildfire-causing droughts and protecting shores.
Hawaii is reportedly the first US state to introduce a “green fee.”
Governor Green said, “Hawaii is doing what other states and other nations are going to have to do.”
He added that as climate change continues to affect the planet, “there will be no way to deal with these crises without some forward-thinking mechanism.”
The Associated Press noted that when combined with other state and county taxes, travelers to Hawaii will have to pay a nearly 19 percent levy on their accommodations.