Colorado Governor Releases Action Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Vehicle Standards Among the Actions to Be Taken

6 November 2007

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has released Colorado’s first Climate Action Plan. The plan, which includes an agricultural carbon sequestration and offset program, establishes two greenhouse-gas reduction goals: 20% below 2005 levels by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

Among the actions outlined as part of the plan is a directive to the Colorado Air Quality Control Division to propose clean car greenhouse gas emission standards within one to two years.

Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have grown by 35% in Colorado from 1990 to 2005. The largest contributors are electricity consumption (36%) and transportation (23%).

The agricultural program would enlist farmers and ranchers to participate in a regional consortium to sequester carbon and reduce emissions on agricultural lands, and sell the resulting carbon credits over a multi-state region.

Other specific actions the governor will take under the climate plan include:

• Issuing a climate change executive order by the end of this year that establishes a 20% greenhouse-gas emissions-reduction goal by 2020, and directs all state agencies to join a statewide effort to achieve this goal.

• Directing the Governor’s Energy Office to launch an Industrial Energy Efficiency Program to encourage large industrial customers to implement efficiency measures.

• Directing the Governor’s Energy Office to provide bi-annual reports on the status of renewable energy development across Colorado, and suggest measures to accelerate development.

• Calling on Congress and the President to accelerate development of clean-coal technologies.

• Directing the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and CDPHE to resolve hurdles to geologic sequestration and identify potential sequestration sites in Colorado.

• Requesting the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to seek from each utility within its jurisdiction an Electric Resource Plan that will include an analysis of how the utility will reduce emissions. The order will also instruct appropriate state agencies to remove barriers and help utilities achieve these goals.

• Amending the April 2007 “Greening of State Government” executive order to establish a 75% by 2020 waste diversion goal for state government.

• Directing the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division to begin examining guidelines that would phase in mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by major emitters.