West

Colorado

Colorado has over two decades of climate action that includes establishing a renewable portfolio standard in 2004 and emissions reductions goals in 2008. Net emissions decreased 11% from 2005-2022, compared to their mandatory emissions reduction target of 26% below 2005 levels by 2025. Ranking 4th in the country for crude oil production and 8th for natural gas production, around half of in-state electricity generation comes from coal and natural gas, complemented by almost 48% from renewables, which has more than quadrupled since 2010 and is dominated by wind.
GHG Reduction Targets
All targets relative to 2005 levels
2025
26%
2030
50%
2035
65%
2040
75%
2045
90%
2050
Net-zero
Governor
Jared Polis (Democrat)
House Party
Democratic Majority
Senate Party
Democratic Majority
Legislative session
1/8/25 - 5/7/25
US Climate Alliance Status
Member

51

Policies Enacted or In Progress
across 7 policy areas

16

Policy Opportunities
across 6 policy areas

West

11 states
This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Progress by Policy Area

  • Enacted Enacted policies have been passed or established in a state by a governing body via legislation, executive orders, rules, regulations, and/or other program creation, and remain in effect.
  • In-progress In progress policies have been established in a state, but final regulations, rules, or plans are pending final approval. This also includes legislation and executive orders that require regulations to be put into effect.
  • Partially Enacted Partially enacted policies have been enacted in the state, but are missing one or more policy components. Dashboard policies cannot be considered partially enacted unless policy components are available.
  • Not Enacted Not enacted policies have not been passed or established in the state or are no longer in effect.
Glossary of Terms
The colored bars indicate the status for each policy on the Dashboard, viewed across seven policy areas.
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Colorado

Created in partnership with

Climate Policies in Colorado

Filters
Status Policy Policy Area Policy Category Year Enacted
Enacted
Empty column

30% renewable energy by 2020 for investor-owned utilities (IOUs) | 10% or 20% renewable energy by 2020 for munis and coops depending on size | 100% clean energy by 2050 for IOUs serving 500,000 or more customers

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets 2019
Enacted
Empty column

46% reduction by 2027 | 80% by 2030 Relative to 2005 levels

Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets 2023
Enacted
Empty column

Regulated utilities are required to submit a Clean Energy Plan to reduce emissions 80% below 2005 levels by 2030 and supply 100% clean energy by 2050

Polis Administration’s Roadmap to 100% Renewable Energy by 2040 and Bold Climate Action

Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets 2019
Not Enacted
Empty column

States can establish some form of statewide, consolidated siting and permitting entity — typically a council or board — for renewables and/or transmission to streamline project review and prevent uncertainty in the face of local governments’ restrictions or prohibitions of renewable generation or transmission.

Electricity
Permitting and Grid Integration
Enacted
Empty column

Colorado received a C grade from Freeing the Grid.

Electricity
Permitting and Grid Integration 2023
Enacted
Empty column

The Colorado Electric Transmission Authority is required to study the need for expanded transmission in the state including by co-locating multiple transmission lines, using advanced transmission technologies (ATTs); and strategically siting new transmission corridors.

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Permitting and Grid Integration 2023
Partially Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
9/11
Electricity
Permitting and Grid Integration
Partially Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
enacted
5/6
Electricity
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources
In-Progress
Empty column

Colorado has an in-progress community choice aggregation program

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources 2021
Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
5/5
Electricity
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources
Not Enacted
Empty column

Energy storage targets establish procurement targets for energy storage systems by a certain date, often with interim targets. Targets can vary from broad megawatt (MW) requirements to more specific mandates that focus on the adoption of certain storage technologies.

Electricity
Incentivizing Clean Energy Resources
Enacted
Empty column

Requires 100% renewable energy by 2040, and does not include energy derived from coal in its definition of renewable electricity.

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Coal Retirement 2023
Enacted
Empty column

Securitization is authorized for coal plant retirement

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Coal Retirement 2019

The State Climate Policy Dashboard tracks only passed policies and does not include bills currently proposed in legislative sessions. The website is intended to illustrate the current status of policies for each state, as well as key resources and model states for each policy.

Much of the information contained in this database is derived from the public domain, with links to resources provided. The information provided is made available solely for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Click here for full Terms of Use.

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