The Polis administration on Monday released the latest iteration of its sweeping plan to sharply curb greenhouse gas pollution in Colorado, whose ultimate goal is to reach “net zero” by 2050. 

The updated version of the “Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap” outlines short-term “actions” that the administration intends to push over the next three years, notably in the areas of electrifying large buildings and encouraging land use policies to “support strategic growth.” 

The list of 49 “near-term actions” include legislation to support “climate friendly” strategic growth; policies to reach “100% clean electricity generation” by 2040; and regulations to reduce emissions from oil and gas operations, landfills and coal mines.

The modified plan places more emphasis on what the administration calls “strategic growth,” a set of approaches that favors Democratic priorities, notably “climate oriented housing” policies coupled with “transit-planned walkable communities” – as opposed, for example, to driving cars to get to work or school.

And just as notably, the modified plan integrates Gov. Jared Polis’ preferred solution to Colorado’s housing woes with his vision for a carbon-free state in just a few decades.

The plan, for example, notes a law enacted last year that mandated the Colorado Electrical Board adopt rules requiring all new multifamily housing projects to comply with EV charging requirements. The original “roadmap” envisioned nearly “100% of all cars on the road being electric” by 2050.

The plan also cites the governor’s executive order that directed state agencies to align policies with increasing housing supplies close to public transit, places of employment and biking and walking corridors.

The governor’s revised roadmap that the actions outlined in the plan “need to be taken in the near term to make even greater progress towards the bold goals of 2040 and 2050.”

In a news release, the Polis administration said the new set of actions, building on what has already been accomplished, would reduce by 2030 more than half the “economy-wide” emissions from the 2005 baseline by 2030 and improve air quality, saving hundreds of lives and avoiding thousands of asthma attacks between now and 2050, as well as creating “more than 95,000 new jobs” over the same period.

All told, the plan is yet another reiteration of a Democratic vision that entails a rapid transition away from fossil-fired energy, in favor of a society powered by solar, wind and other forms of energy.

Supporters say the transition away from fossil-fired energy is necessary, that undergirding such a goal is the “moral imperative” to fight climate change and curb pollution and that it offers Colorado the opportunity to “drive innovation and harness the consumer savings and economic benefits of leading the transition to a clean energy economy.”

“Colorado has been a national model in bold climate action that improves air quality and protects our precious resources and open spaces. This updated, comprehensive Roadmap continues pushing our state forward in ways that will save Coloradans money, protect our air and water, and ensure a more sustainable future for Colorado,” Polis said.

Critics counter that achieving 100% renewable energy in such a short time is not only technologically impossible but also dangerous because it creates a system that would fail under extreme weather events, such as a weeks-long winter freeze. 

Others argue that the transition is happening too fast – and it will be costly.

For example, building owners and management companies said what a state mandate to upgrade energy efficiency in large buildings known as Rule 28 really amounts to is a mandatory electrification requirement. Critics added that renovations that meet the initial 7% reduction by 2026 may be impossible to achieve due to planning, permitting and supply-chain issues.  

A state economic impact report earlier said the direct cost to large building owners for capital expenditures, reporting and management is $3.1 billion – expenses that will be incurred by the 20% energy reduction deadline set for 2030.

The report said building owners will see savings of $4.6 billion in electricity costs and $577 million for natural gas, totaling $5.1 billion by 2050. The report also cited $1.24 billion in savings from the social cost of eliminating 26 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent gasses. 

Still, others argue that the treatment of climate change has been “alarmist,” that calls for a “net zero” at the global stage is far more expensive than its promised benefits, and that what the world needs, particularly in “energy poverty” areas, is reliable, low-cost fossil energy until a “global transition to a greener energy future” becomes more feasible. 

The mandates are coming from both state and local governments. 

Denver, for example, is offering carrots and sticks in its efforts to cut carbon emissions and electrify buildings larger than 25,000 square feet. For example, for a 150,000-square-foot office building that overshoots its energy savings goal by 9.5 million kBtu by 2030, the owner could face a cumulative penalty of more than $2.8 million, according to documents outlining penalties from the Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency.

And a building that hits its target in 2031 but goes out of compliance in 2033 and 2034 could potentially face a penalty of $226,500, the documents showed.

“The move to decouple from fossil fuel and move towards an all-electric energy environment is going to be challenging, especially within the timeframes that they’ve outlined,” said Dave Davia, who was at the time speaking for Rocky Mountain Mechanical Contractors Association, a construction trade organization. “So, for example, in Denver, getting a permit through the process for site development and things like that is about a two-year process right now.”

Several elected officials endorsed the governor’s updated plan.

Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett said it treats the climate crisis “with the urgency it deserves.”

“This is an all hands on deck moment, and the Roadmap reflects that by identifying how emissions will be reduced across all sectors of Colorado’s economy and how every state department will contribute to those reductions,” he said in a news release from the governor’s office.

Dan Haley, the president and CEO of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, said the industry is “already ahead of schedule for meeting our GHG emission reduction targets, and we’re committed to doing even more and investing in technology to help meet the expectations identified in the updated Roadmap.”

“While we haven’t had a chance to fully digest the 160-page report, we’re appreciative that the administration outlined the environmental concerns a ban on oil and gas permitting, and other anti-energy measures being considered by activist groups, would create in Colorado,” he told The Denver Gazette.