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 9% from 2005-2021, compared to their mandatory emissions reduction target of 26% below 2005 levels by 2025. Ranking 5th in the country for crude oil production and 8th for natural gas production, over half of in-state electricity generation comes from coal and natural gas, complemented by almost 40% 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

Key Offices & Links

46

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 7 policy areas

See all

16

Policy Opportunities

across 6 policy areas

See all

West

11 states

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

Compare with other states

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Not Enacted Not enacted policies have not been passed or established in the state or are no longer in effect.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.

Status	Policy	Policy Area	Policy Category	YR Enacted
Enacted	Residential Energy Codes Empty column State law requires local jurisdictions to adopt and enforce the 2021 IECC and the Colorado Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code upon updating any other building code between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2026. Cities and counties with building codes must adopt the Model Low Energy and Carbon Codes when they update any other building codes after July 1, 2026. Establishing Policies HB 22-1362 (2022) Colorado's Building Energy Codes and Toolkit	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2022
Enacted	Commercial Energy Codes Empty column State law requires local jurisdictions to adopt and enforce the 2021 IECC and the Colorado Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code upon updating any other building code between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2026. Cities and counties with building codes must adopt the Model Low Energy and Carbon Codes when they update any other building codes after July 1, 2026. Establishing Policies HB 22-1362 (2022) Colorado's Building Energy Codes and Toolkit	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2022
Enacted	Stretch Building Energy Codes Empty column Any municipality that adopts or updates building codes is also required to adopt or exceed the 2021 IECC. Establishing Policies HB 22-1362 (2022)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2022
Enacted	Appliance Standards Empty column The Colorado Efficiency Standards for Appliances apply to 20 products. Establishing Policies C.R.S. 6-7.5 (2019) HB23-1161 (2023) Efficiency standards for appliances	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards	2023
Enacted	Building Performance Standards Empty column The Building Performance Colorado program requires buildings greater than 50,000 square feet to reduce emissions 7% by 2026 and 20% by 2030 from a 2021 baseline. Establishing Policies SB 21-1286 (2021) 5 CCR 1001-32 (2023) Colorado’s Building Performance Program	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards	2023
Enacted	Clean Heat Standards Empty column The state requires gas distribution utilities to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 4% by 2025 and 22% by 2030, relative to 2015 levels. Establishing Policies SB21-264 (2021)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards	2021
Enacted	Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS) Empty column Electric utilities are required to reduce retail system peak demand by 5% by 2028 relative to 2018 levels, and achieve annual energy savings of 440 gigawatt hours (GWh) for 2024-2026. Gas utilities are required to achieve annual energy savings of 814,000 dekatherms (Dth) in 2024, 860,000 Dth in 2025, and 903,000 Dth in 2026. Establishing Policies HB 17-1227 (2017)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency	2017
Enacted	Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Empty column Colorado has enacted commercial PACE-enabling legislation and has active programs. Establishing Policies C.R.S. 32-20-101 et seq. (2010)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency	2010
Partially Enacted	Weatherization Funding 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. Establishing Policies SPOT - Weatherization Funding in Colorado Policy Components enacted enacted not-enacted enacted 3/4	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency
Not Enacted	All-Electric Buildings Empty column All-electric buildings policies require new buildings to be constructed with all-electric heating, cooling, and cooking systems to transition away from fossil-fuel use in buildings.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Electrification

Colorado

Key Offices & Links

46

16

West

Progress by Policy Area

Climate Governance and Equity

Cross-Sector

Electricity

Buildings and Efficiency

Transportation

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management

Natural and Working Lands

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Colorado

Climate Policies in Colorado