The devastating impacts of climate change pose major challenges for all of Colorado. As temperatures rise, storms get stronger, and droughts increase, we must continue to fight to ensure that science drives our country’s decision making. And we must be proactive and innovative to mitigate the impacts of climate change and build resilience across the state. The impacts of climate change are felt everywhere, and too often disproportionately impact those who are underserved and unheard. We see it in more forest fires that are harder to extinguish, a resurgence of mountain pine bark beetle infestations, threats to the aquatic ecosystems in our rivers, damage to our wildlife ranges, stronger storms, and extreme heat that challenges our industries with outdoor workforces (be that construction, agriculture, or outdoor recreation). I will face these challenges head on. We will advance critical measures to make communities more resilient to the costly and growing threats of climate change—including extreme heat, wildfires, floods, and droughts. 

Protecting Public Health, People, and Wildlife

As the federal government abdicates its responsibilities in the fight against rising temperatures and human-driven changes to our climate systems, it’s more important than ever for Colorado to lead and protect our land, air, water and wildlife. 

As governor, I will recommit our state government to the shift of our energy needs to clean energy without shifting the costs to Coloradans already faced with high energy bills. Click here for more of my thoughts on energy.

I will work hard to protect the fragile ecosystems and biodiversity that make Colorado beautiful and support our natural resiliency. This will include working with Land Trust organizations across the state to conserve private lands for the benefit of agriculture, ecosystems and future generations; coordinating with the US Forest Service to ensure elk range, migration, and calving areas are appropriately considered; and exploring the benefits beavers and other ecosystem engineering to protect, restore and support healthy, resilient ecosystems across public and private lands. I am committed to ensuring we work in tandem with local and regional leaders to bring forward smart protections for the range of wildlife that calls Colorado home. 

I will issue an executive order creating a cabinet-level task force led by a Chief Resilience Officer and build on the work being done by the Colorado Resiliency Office. They will work closely with local leaders, businesses, and community organizations to develop innovative, actionable, and practical solutions to Colorado’s interconnected resilience challenges—including wildfire risk driving up insurance costs, storms impacting grid and infrastructure resilience, drought enhancing demand on our limited water supplies, loss of biodiversity making our ecosystems less resilient, and excessive heat threatening our outdoor workforce and air quality. 

Protecting our Air and Water Quality

Last year, Colorado’s Front Range experienced 40 days when air quality measurements exceeded federal standards. This past summer’s air was no better. And streams across the state continue to struggle with contamination and quality issues. Coloradans deserve better. Our state should lead the nation with the cleanest air and water, but instead we are ranked 31st. 

As governor, I will appoint people to air- and water-focused state boards and commissions that are responsive to communities impacted by polluters and prioritize sufficient resources to the Colorado Department of Health and  Environment (“CDPHE”)  to ensure it has what it needs to monitor and enforce our air and water quality regulations. Expanding and enhancing the resources and capabilities of CDPHE for effective air and water quality monitoring is critical to ensuring that the state can effectively enforce our laws and maintain acceptable quality air and water for all citizens across the state.

In my first 100 days, I will direct CDPHE to undertake a comprehensive review of what environmental protections are being disregarded as the federal Environmental Protection Agency abandons its role to protect our environmental quality, and determine where the state has a duty and the authority to step in to fill that void. As part of this effort, we will make sure the state continues to protect our water quality regulations and its nation-leading methane regulations—protecting our communities from this potent pollutant. I will also direct CDPHE to review its current processes and procedures, to identify where it can improve and be more responsive with stakeholders—both permit holders and environmental advocates—including improving its review times and decision-making process for permit applications.

As governor, I will ensure that risky ventures that put our environment at risk are not rubber stamped. As attorney general, I challenged one such scheme by leading other state attorneys general in supporting Eagle County’s lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court to stop a dangerous plan concocted by an Utah oil-and-gas company to build a new railroad line in Colorado to ship a quarter million barrels of waxy crude oil—daily—along the Colorado River. This placed an untenable risk on our state’s most important drinking water source, potentially leading to spills, leaks, and rail spark-caused wildfires. As governor, I will stand firm against this and similar schemes that put our land, air, water and wildlife at risk.
And I will ensure the state provides the resources, support, and oversight necessary so that orphaned and low producing natural gas wells—which produce disproportionately high levels of harmful methane into our air—are properly and responsibly plugged and the adjacent land is reclaimed and restored to its natural state. This work is critical to protecting communities, as unplugged wells threaten community safety as well as further damage our climate.