Preparing Colorado for Today & the Next Generation: Polis Administration Releases a Series of Reports Showing Actions and Progress on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Wednesday, January 3, 2024

 

Biannual update on Colorado’s greenhouse gas pollution reduction roadmap implementation, biennial statewide inventory of greenhouse emissions, and biennial legislative report on the greenhouse gas inventory show Colorado’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis

 

Colorado is 84% of the way toward achieving its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal, with additional actions identified that would take the state to 94% of the goal

 

DENVER - In an effort to prepare Colorado for today and for the next generation, the Polis Administration has made significant progress on numerous fronts to ensure Colorado continues the important task of cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, according to a series of reports released by the Polis administration. 

 

“These reports show both Colorado’s commitment to cutting greenhouse gas pollution and the progress we’ve made and will continue to make to help our state today and for future generations to come,” said Governor Jared Polis. “We are doubling down on comprehensive plans that we’ve already set in motion and creating new innovative ways to make our state a healthier place for Coloradans for today and for the next generation.”

 

The reports are: 

 

 

Required by either statute or executive action, these reports ensure Coloradans stay up-to-date on the Polis administration’s work and progress to meet its ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals and tackle climate change. Notably, the Greenhouse Gas Inventory shows that Colorado is 84% of the way toward achieving its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal, with forthcoming additional actions identified that would take the state to 94% of the goal. 

 

 

This work comes as the state prepares to release a series of new near-term actions through its Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap 2.0, which will come out in the first quarter of 2024. During the past six months, the state has taken numerous steps to update the Roadmap. This work has included a robust stakeholder process, an updated baseline forecast of emissions that accounts for the progress the state has made over the last three years, and a new set of near-term priorities over the next three years to bring the state closer to its climate goals.

 

Biannual Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions Implementation Report (December 2023)

 

The biannual progress report is required every six months as part of a July 2021 Executive Order signed by Governor Polis. The last report was released in June 2023.  Highlights from that report include:

 

  • On August 3, the Colorado Energy Office and Colorado Department of Transportation awarded $17 million in grant funding for electric vehicle charging stations through the DCFC Plazas Program. This money will allow for 188 fast chargers at 36 locations across the state.

 

  • In August, Colorado began a statewide e-bike rebate program that provides point-of-sale rebates for electric bicycle purchases to low- and moderate-income Coloradans. In addition, a new grant program launched in October to provide funding to local governments across Colorado to create their own e-bike rebate programs. 

 

  • In September, the Air Quality Control Commission adopted a first-of-its-kind rule to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from large manufacturers and air pollution in nearby communities. The Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Management for Manufacturing Phase 2 rule (sometimes known as GEMM 2) aims to ensure 18 of Colorado’s highest-emitting manufacturers collectively reduce their greenhouse gas emissions 20% by 2030, compared to 2015 levels. 

 

  • In October, the AQCC adopted the Colorado Clean Cars standard. The standard directs vehicle manufacturers to ensure 82% of new light duty vehicles sold in Colorado are electric by model year 2032. This will support Colorado’s goal of nearly one million electric vehicles on the road in Colorado by 2030. The adopted rule also includes a directive for the division to revisit the rule in 2028 to determine whether to extend it beyond model year 2032.

 

  • Colorado’s Office of Just Transition and Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) awarded nearly $1.2 million in grants to four community-based projects that will help generate new jobs, expand local property tax revenues, and diversify local transition economies. These grants funded two hospital-based projects in Meeker and Oak Creek, a business-support program in the Town of Yampa, and a socio-economic study for a proposed pumped storage hydropower project in Moffat County. 

 

2023 Colorado Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report
 

Colorado’s Statewide Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report is published every two years as required by a 2019 state law signed by the Governor. The report provides updates on Colorado greenhouse gas reduction targets required by another 2019 state law signed by Governor Polis. The report includes past, recent, and projected greenhouse gas emissions for different sectors across Colorado. The last inventory was published in 2021. The new 2023 inventory projects greenhouse gas emissions from 2021 through 2050, features updates to data sources and methods and greater depth in analyses and includes improvements in transparency and data availability.

 

The inventory found that with no further actions, Colorado is projected to:

  • Meet or exceed both the 2025 and 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for the oil and gas sector, and significantly exceed the 2030 target for the electricity sector.
  • Achieve 79% of the 2025 statewide greenhouse gas reduction target, which is a 26% greenhouse gas reduction by 2025 compared to 2005 levels.
  • Accomplish 84% of the 2030 statewide greenhouse gas reduction target, which is a 50% greenhouse gas reduction by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

 

In addition, if Colorado implements near-term actions proposed in Roadmap 2.0, Colorado is projected to:

  • Exceed the 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target for the industrial and manufacturing sector. 
  • Reach its 2025 greenhouse gas reduction target within two years of that date, and achieve its 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target within a year of that date.
  • These emission reduction projections do not yet include all of the policies outlined in Roadmap 2.0. They will be updated as modeling is completed and likely showing additional reductions.

 

2023 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Progress Report to the Colorado Legislature

 

The draft report provides policy and legislative recommendations to help Colorado achieve future greenhouse gas reduction targets. 

 

The report includes information on:

  • Historical emissions in Colorado.
  • Projected emissions, including modeled emissions based on current measures.
  • Cost-benefit and regulatory analyses on Air Quality Control Commission rules adopted in 2022 and 2023.
  • A snapshot of legislative actions from 2022 and 2023.
  • More than 40 proposed new near-term-action recommendations to help Colorado achieve future greenhouse gas reduction targets.

 

The report will soon be sent to the General Assembly to update legislators on progress toward greenhouse gas reduction targets outlined in state law. The report is published every two years.

 

###