Regulators reacted to the appeal of 6 environmental groups that say data for individual drilling projects isn’t helping solve Colorado’s regional pollution problems
Colorado Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap
Colorado oil and gas companies said a 2019 state law would destroy them. That didn’t happen. But here’s what did.
The demise of the oil and gas industry in Colorado — predicted after the passage of legislation and regulations focused on protecting public health, safety and the environment — does not appear to be imminent. Plans for nearly 1,900 new oil and gas wells are before the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2022 […]
Colorado’s governor encourages people to switch to electric vehicles. So why isn’t he driven around in one?
Gov. Jared Polis and his administration have encouraged Coloradans to carpool and use electric vehicles to help meet the state’s ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals. But Polis often spends an hour and a half being driven to and from Denver in a hulking, gasoline-powered Chevrolet Suburban. Over the past two years, Polis was driven by […]
First-in-the-U.S. rules that give oil and gas industry leeway in slashing emissions OK’d in Colorado
Colorado air regulators have adopted a sweeping set of rules to slash methane emissions from oil and gas operations, including a controversial, first-in-the nation program giving industry a freer hand in determining how to cut pollution. The “intensity program,” under which operators will have to reduce emissions by set percentages based on the amount of […]
A new rule to slash oil and gas emissions appeals to the industry, but Colorado activists worry it won’t work
The Polis administration is banking on an untested, first-in-the-nation type of regulation to sharply cut oil and gas sector emissions to meet state greenhouse gas targets — drawing praise from the industry, but roiling environmental groups and some local officials. The draft “greenhouse gas intensity target” rule, to be submitted to the Air Quality Control […]
Effort to force Colorado to cut greenhouse emissions faster exposes exasperation with Polis administration
For more than a year, frustrated Colorado lawmakers and environmental groups have struggled to push the Polis administration to move faster to meet mandated cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Now they are advancing a bill to set emission caps and deadlines — over the objections of the governor. The Senate Transportation and Energy Committee moved […]
Sen. Winter, Rep. Jackson: It’s time for climate action and justice in Colorado. Our bills will help us get there.
The time is now. Last summer, Coloradans experienced the three largest wildfires in our state’s history, which destroyed homes, businesses, and livelihoods. Our families were told to shelter in place as dangerous air quality plagued our skies. All of this happened in the midst of a deadly virus that makes it harder to breathe. By […]
Ambitious plan for cap-and-trade greenhouse gas cuts rejected by Colorado Air Quality Control Commission
An ambitious proposal by environmental groups for a market-based cap-and-trade program delivering faster cuts to Colorado greenhouse gas emissions was rejected Friday afternoon by the state Air Quality Control Commission, which called it intriguing but too complex and expensive to execute now. Commissioners voted 7 to 1 to reject a petition from the Environmental Defense […]
The road to greenhouse gas cuts: Are Colorado drivers ready?
When Colorado’s greenhouse gas battle comes to her Wheat Ridge driveway, Jan Rose will be ready. Rose believes heart and soul that if the state wants to hit benchmarks of 90% cuts to polluting emissions by 2050, Coloradans will have to drive less, and if they do drive, use a clean electric car. Recent successful […]
Dollars, not politics, are driving Colorado’s accelerated embrace of solar energy
HUDSON — Standing in the shade of a massive, utility-scale array of solar panels on farmland east of Interstate 25, you don’t have to look far for real-time examples of renewable sun power supplanting fossil fuels in the arc of Colorado’s historical energy supply. Electricity generated by the Rattlesnake solar array uploads to United Power’s […]