(Colorado Newsline) When I campaigned for governor in 2006, I ran, in part, on creating a “new energy economy” in  Colorado. The voters were one of my inspirations for this effort.

In 2004, Coloradans handily passed Amendment 37, which required Colorado investor-owned utilities to achieve 10% renewable energy in their portfolio by 2015. By doing this, we became the first state in the Union to pass a renewable portfolio standard at the ballot box. Once elected, my administration  continued to push forward on re-imagining our approach to energy and we enacted policies that helped spur the use of renewables to even higher levels.  

Since leaving office, I have continued to be a climate champion, and in my current role with the Center for a New Energy Economy at Colorado State University I work with states across the country to develop clean energy economies. With that in mind, I am incredibly proud to say that Colorado has continued to develop as a national leader on addressing climate — a position that was further cemented by the release from Gov. Jared Polis’ administration of the updated Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap. 

This Roadmap is ambitious and builds on a series of steps taken over the past 20 years, including significant steps taken by the state Legislature and the Polis administration over the last few years. Of particular note, in 2023 the state Legislature passed a measure setting a target of reducing GHG emissions to net-zero by by 2050. No doubt, it will be difficult to achieve, but this Roadmap is an important milestone in both showing where we stand and providing direction for the next steps we need to get us there.  

The first bit of good news from the Roadmap is that all the programs and policies we’ve already put into place are having an impact — already putting us on a path to over 80% of the way toward our 2030 goal. And the plan shows that in the next three years Colorado can get very close to meeting its 2030 goals. That comes about through additional policies laid out in the plan that leverage the success of our past work and leverages federal investments from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 

This Roadmap is an important milestone in both showing where we stand and providing direction for the next steps we need to get us there.

Specifically, this Roadmap delivers a comprehensive set of actions that can turbo-charge our efforts. These include: going deeper and faster in our renewable energy investments and tackling emissions from buildings, industry, and oil and gas, as well as expanding public transit and tackling smarter land use. This plan shows a Colorado-unique pathway to making deep reductions. The actions are detailed, laying out specific venues and lead agencies, and balance ambition with feasibility. While I think it will be a challenge to get all these actions underway in the next three years, it is certainly possible. 

No doubt, there will still be huge hurdles to navigate, like emissions from the transportation sector, which is a difficult nut to crack. But for now, the important thing is that we are on the right track and we have the right leaders in place to move forward. As Coloradans, we should be proud of what this plan means for both the climate and for improving our air quality and public health. Equally as important, this work will help Coloradans save money on transportation and utility bills. This is a virtuous cycle. When we deploy more clean energy  technologies and smart climate policies, the cost of addressing the climate crisis will keep getting less expensive.  

I look forward to the Polis administration’s well-focused ambition on these issues, and I’m  confident that our state will continue down the path to meeting and exceeding our goals in the years and decades to come.

Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and Twitter.