Letter asks Colorado State and Federal Leaders to Continue Protecting Colorado’s Ability to Determine its Own Climate Destiny

Colorado Communities for Climate Action Continues the Battle to Protect Air, Water and People

As a Western state facing the impacts of long-term drought, and a rapidly changing climate impacting high-altitude geography in a multitude of ways, state and local elected officials are understandably concerned. Which makes the recent letter sent to state and federal leadership all the more significant.

On Wednesday, 140 state and local elected officials connected to the coalition that calls itself Colorado Communities for Climate Action(CC4CA) presented a letter to state and federal officials.

The message conveyed how vitally important it is that Colorado’s state leaders and Congressional representatives continue using every tool at their disposal to protect Coloradans from the climate crisis and to preserve the state’s ability to craft the best solutions for Colorado communities.

The city of Salida, which is represented on the coalition by Council Member Dominique Naccarato, has signed onto the CC4CA, as has Lake County.

Notably, Chaffee County is not a member of Colorado Communities for Climate Action (at least not yet), and is not one of the signing counties.

Asked to comment on this, Chaffee Board of County Commissioner Chair P.T. Wood, who when he was mayor of Salida saw that the city joined this coalition, said, “We’re involved with them; we’re still active with the group. We likely will be a member. It’s a budget thing for the county at this point in time.”

The letter continued, “In light of repeated attacks by the federal administration to undercut the significant advancements Colorado has made to protect our communities from the impacts of climate change, this letter from 37 municipalities, 17 counties, and 23 state elected officials signals how important it is for Colorado to continue its leadership.”

“Colorado has developed balanced and effective solutions to the climate crisis that tackle housing affordability, critical workforce shortages, and the diverse needs of our state, explained Adams County Commissioner Emma Pinter. “The Trump administration has no business upending basic environmental protections in Colorado or across the country.”

In April, the federal administration issued its most recent Executive Order, called somewhat ironically, “Protecting American Energy from State Overreach”. The position set out in that executive order would appear to threaten Colorado’s energy leadership: not only has this state established some of the most ambitious goals in the country, but set the policies that have had diverse industry and stakeholder support.

Colorado’s leadership has already gone on record stating its intent to fight this Executive Order. The letter encourages state and federal elected officials to keep fighting for Colorado communities.

“Communities like mine value making our own decisions about what is best for our lands, air, and water, and we want Colorado to continue its leadership on climate policy and renewable energy,” said Mayor of Basalt David Knight. “On behalf of the 140 elected officials who signed this letter and hail from every corner of the state, we are proud of Colorado’s swift public defense of our state and local governments’ efforts to protect our air, water, health, and environment. Especially as the federal government continues to attack climate policy, we need our political leadership to continue standing strong.”