Climate

The City of Boulder is proud to lead the way by making its buildings more efficient and powering its services with local solar generation.

Track the city's progress on Boulder Measures.

Local renewable generation is good for our climate, our air and our local economy. 

Track our community's progress on Boulder Measures.

The City of Boulder and the Boulder community are committed to mitigating climate change by reducing GHG emissions. Together, we can make a difference in this global crisis.

Track our community's progress on Boulder Measures.

The city's Legislative Agenda includes several items related to climate and energy. The city works with partners across the state, region and globe to support efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase use of renewables. 

• City of Boulder Legislative Agenda 
• Colorado Communities for Climate Action (CC4CA)
• Urban Sustainability Director's Network (USDN)
• Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA)
• Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC)  
• Front-range sustainability collaboration 

Spotlight on: Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance

Did you know? Boulder is a part of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA), a global collaboration of 20 cities who are committed to cutting emissions by 80 percent or more by 2050 or sooner. Being a part of this cohort allows Boulder to collaborate and share lessons in deep carbon reduction best practices with other progressive cities around the world.

Boulder launched its first formal climate action efforts in 2002. Since that time, the city has been at the forefront of innovation in working to reduce climate impacts: adopting the Climate Action Plan tax, the country's first voter approved tax dedicated to addressing climate change, developing a national model for delivering energy efficiency services, enacting the country’s most stringent energy code for new buildings and much more. 

Boulder's Climate Action Plan, often referred to as the CAP, was Boulder's first phase of climate action, and featured a set of aggressive, city-funded programs and services designed to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change. As a result of CAP-funded programs, many of which exist today, Boulder avoided more than 50,000 metric tons of emissions between 2007 and 2015, keeping our community emissions fairly constant despite growth in population, jobs and economic activity. 

In Dec. 2016, Boulder City Council adopted the Climate Commitment and its associated goals of an 80 percent reduction in community greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2050; 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030; and 80 percent reduction in organization greenhouse gas emissions below 2008 levels by 2030. The goals and their related sub-milestones are the city’s first since the expiration of the city’s previous climate action goal in 2012.

In July 2019, City Council declared a climate emergency to join other cities around the globe in acknowledging the serious threat of the climate crisis. In response, city staff began a process to mobilize the community in taking more aggressive climate action than ever by starting the development of the Climate Mobilization Action Plan, or CMAP. This process to co-create a new climate action plan kicked off with a launch event on Sept. 26, 2019, during global climate strike week.

Learn more about Boulder's energy use and greenhouse gas emissions through Boulder's GHG inventory.

 For our community, climate action is about resilience and transformation: we need to adapt to the climate changes that are already in motion, as well as reduce the emissions-heavy activities that drive future climate change. We face a great challenge but also a great opportunity to make Boulder better-- to  create a healthier, safer and more prosperous community. We need your help to make it happen!

The strategic framework laid out in the Climate Commitment guides the city's climate work in three action areas:  energy, ecosystems and resources.   Rising to the climate challenge will require long-term action in all three area and work is underway!

 The CAP Tax generates approximately $1.8 million per year. Approximately 65% of that goes directly to program funding (rebates, advising services, etc.), with the remaining 35% funding staff and other overhead (office space, office expenses, use of citywide services such as the City Attorney’s Office and Finance Department, etc.). Approximately $300,000 of the annual CAP tax collections go directly into program incentives. 

Learn more on the city's CAP Tax page.