There can be little dispute that Hawai'i cannot wait any longer to get started down the path toward renewable energy sources.

We humans have polluted the world for too long because of our fossil fuel consumption, and we are now seeing the consequences.

In Hawai'i, we have added incentives to push us away from our dependence on fossil fuels. The Islands rely on imported fossil fuels to meet more than 90 percent of energy needs, making us vulnerable if our oil supply is disrupted. And as oil prices rise, our energy bills rise — it is estimated that every 10 percent increase in world oil prices means a 0.5 percent reduction in the state's gross domestic product.

So the "clean energy" partnership announced Monday by the state and U.S. Department of Energy is a big step forward. The plan is to make Hawai'i a national model for using renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, ocean, geothermal and bioenergy to supply 70 percent of our energy needs by 2030.

It's ambitious — and very necessary.

The timetable calls for working groups to be established this month and strategic plans with a set of actions to jump-start programs by June. That's a tall order — but a jump start is critical.

One of the issues the working groups will address is the goal of zero net-energy buildings and communities. That's key, for we must not only move toward energy from renewable sources, but we must make our buildings more energy efficient and we must make conservation a way of life — both individually and in business, industry and government.

Do government, the private sector and the citizenry have the will to make this happen? We all have no choice.