Colorado

The Centennial State has earned its reputation as a climate leader, and NRDC continues to guide it forward.

Photovoltaic solar panel arrays at Sunnyside Community Solar Project in La Plata County, Colorado. The 9 acre, 1.7 MW solar field is owned and operated by La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) and generates an estimated 4,643,000 kWh per year, enough to power an estimated 600 homes.

Photovoltaic solar panel arrays in La Plata County, Colorado, which generates an estimated 4,643,000 kWh per year, enough to power an estimated 600 homes

Credit: ProAerial Media, LLC for NRDC Action Fund

The identity of Colorado is inextricably linked with its natural treasures—its breathtaking Rocky Mountain scenery, powerful namesake river, flowering alpine meadows, and iconic wildlife like black bears, mountain lions, and golden eagles. The state has also earned its reputation as a climate leader, particularly for its commitment to clean transportation in recent years. But despite its deeply rooted environmental values, the state is at a crossroads, with its public lands increasingly targeted for oil and gas development, its water scarcity issues compounding threats of wildfire, and its investments in public transit and electric vehicle infrastructure targeted for funding cuts.

NRDC’s public lands and climate advocates have been working to ensure the Centennial State continues to develop policies that preserve its great outdoors, including by knitting together diverse sectors such as the recreation industry, farmers, ranchers, and developers to stand strong against attacks. And working with state and city officials, we continue to shape policies that advance the state’s clean, affordable transportation initiatives and its goal to reach 100 percent renewable electricity production by 2040, in ways that will benefit all Coloradans.

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Latest expert blogs on Colorado

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Colorado: A National Leader in Transportation and Climate

Expert BlogColoradoRabi Abonour
The state’s next governor can make Colorado’s transportation system cleaner, safer, more equitable, and more affordable.

It’s Time for Colorado to Fix Its Neonic Pesticide Problem

Expert BlogColoradoAllison Johnson, Lena Freij
SB26-065, the SEED Act, would reduce the number one source of neonic pesticide pollution in the state by eliminating unnecessary seed coatings.

Colorado Has a Toxic Neonics Problem—and a Path to Recovery

Expert BlogColoradoAllison Johnson, Lena Freij
Eliminating unnecessary uses of toxic insecticides is the next step.

Latest Data, Reports & Resources on Colorado

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Trump’s Dirty Energy Double Whammy: Pay More for Fuel and Power—and Use More of It

BackgrounderUnited States, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, WisconsinBob Deans
How the Trump administration's policies are driving up costs at the pump and the plug while deepening dependence on fossil fuels, with a focus on nine states: Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.
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A Pathway to Pollution-Free Buildings 2026 Report

BackgrounderColoradoThomas Siafa Jr.
Xcel Energy can help Colorado achieve its clean energy future with greater investment in efficient electric buildings.

Economic Impacts of Food Waste Diversion in Colorado

Issue BriefColoradoMadeline Keating, Andrea Collins
New modeling shows that a food waste diversion policy would have vast economic and climate benefits for Colorado.

Latest News, Commentary & Dispatches on Colorado

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A train transporting freight on a carrier line near Price, Utah

The Uinta Basin Railway Would Be a Bigger Carbon Bomb Than Willow

DispatchUtah, Colorado, United StatesNicole Greenfield
The project could sabotage U.S. climate goals, send oil-filled trains along the Colorado River, and pollute the air from Utah to the Gulf Coast.
A thick haze hangs over a city skyline with mountains in the background

In Colorado, Oil and PFAS Shouldn’t Mix

DispatchColoradoNicole Greenfield
We can add PFAS contamination to the list of ways the oil and gas industry is threatening Coloradans’ health. Two new laws aim to stop it—but are they enough?

Colorado’s Religious Communities See Climate Action as a Moral Obligation

DispatchColoradoNicole Greenfield
Whether fighting for clean air or affordable housing, several of the state’s faith leaders are uniting around the notion of protecting “home.”

Latest Court Battles involving Colorado

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Wilderness Workshop et al. v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management et al.

Court CaseColoradoClosed
In 2015, BLM opened hundreds of thousands of acres in the Colorado River Valley to oil and gas development without ever analyzing and disclosing the environmental impacts. So we sued.