(1) The general assembly hereby finds
and declares that:
(a) Ensuring a thriving future for the state of Colorado and its citizens
requires a collaborative, coordinated, and proactive statewide effort to identify,
plan for, address, and avoid any detrimental impacts of climate change. Avoiding
future disasters, and detrimental impacts to our natural systems, built environment,
and people, by means of thorough and coordinated planning and preparedness will
be more efficient and cost effective than short-term solutions.
(b) Undertaking a data-driven, comprehensive, and aggregate analysis of
population and environmental trends to understand the likely impact on Colorado's
infrastructure, people, landscapes, ecosystems, and communities will aid in
informing the state and local governments about potential threats; aligning
resources; identifying gaps in policy, coordination, or communication; and
developing efficient, effective, and equitable solutions.
(c) A comprehensive, strategic plan for how Colorado can grow in a manner
that achieves the state's climate mitigation goals and adapts to a warming climate
will provide the state with a path for becoming more climate-resilient, affordable,
inclusive, and economically competitive.
(d) In 2015, the state of Colorado wisely undertook a long-term,
comprehensive, living approach to evaluating and planning the future of the state's
water resources through the development of the Colorado water plan. Much as
water is the lifeblood of the state, Colorado's climate future is vital to the health of
Colorado communities. The state, therefore, should make the same effort to
address its climate future as it does to address water conservation given the
demonstrated and increasing impacts of climate change on the state's
communities, infrastructure, and natural systems.
(e) The state of Colorado is expected to continue to grow, adding more than
one million eight hundred thousand new people between 2020 and 2050. This
population growth will lead to dynamic shifts in how the movement of goods and
people impacts statewide resources, systems, communities, economies, and the
state's public lands, air, water resources, and wildlife resources.
(f) While Colorado grows, a changing climate is already showing increasingly
long-term detrimental effects on our water resources, public lands, wildlife
populations, and forest health, as well as our public infrastructure, built
environment, and public health.
(g) The number of disasters around the world has increased by a factor of
five over the previous fifty years, and the rate of increase is expected to continue
and accelerate. Colorado continues to experience significant climate change
induced natural disasters, including wildfires, drought, flash flooding, and
mudslides that have resulted in significant increases in the use of state resources
and work time expended by state employees. By 2050, without significant
interventions, the average area of our state burned by fire each year is expected to
increase anywhere from fifty percent to two hundred percent.
(h) The general assembly, through House Bill 19-1261, enacted in 2019, has
set goals to ensure that the state will reduce greenhouse gas pollution. Relative to
2005 levels, the state has set goals to reduce greenhouse gas pollution statewide
by twenty-six percent by 2025, fifty percent by 2030, and ninety percent by 2050.
(i) The state's natural systems, lands, waters, air, and wildlife face significant
impacts from climate change and changing demographics, and represent
foundational elements of Colorado's character, statewide economies, and local
economies. A comprehensive approach to climate preparedness must address the
needs of the state's natural systems, lands, waters, air, and wildlife to ensure
thriving systems and their long-term health. A comprehensive approach to climate
preparedness should support the critical role that voluntary and incentive-based
conservation measures play in supporting agricultural producers and private
landowners while achieving broader ecosystem benefits. A comprehensive
approach to climate preparedness should also address the need to ensure resilient
and connected landscapes that are critically important for ecosystem health in
facing the impacts of climate change.
(j) Following passage of the federal American Rescue Plan Act, the United
States congress has passed the once-in-a-generation, federal Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act that will directly provide over three billion dollars to
Colorado for critical infrastructure and other areas of needed investment over the
next five years. These rare, one-time investments will have a profound impact on
the way the state grows. These investments should be planned and undertaken in
concert with the goals articulated by House Bill 19-1261, in a manner that seeks to
avoid future disasters and support climate adaptation needs, and are assisted by a
coordinated effort.
(k) The state can realize the best outcomes in preparing for climate and
demographic changes by promoting strong partnerships with local governments
and community partners; identifying needs, support, and incentives for local
communities; and fostering coordination among local governments to achieve
regional and statewide benefits.
(l) The state must ensure that equity, environmental justice, and
representation are central considerations of state preparedness, planning,
coordination, and outcomes. Equity must be a key value in preparing for a world
that is impacted by climate change and ever increasing disasters to ensure the
representation of those communities that stand to be the most affected by a
changing climate.