At-A-Glance:
Colorado has been leveraging the legislative will of the people to reduce fossil fuel usage in generating electricity while at the same time addressing the impact such measures have on the workers most directly impacted by a green movement.
Key Takeaways:
- Colorado passed 14 bills into law which increase renewables & address the community’s economic needs
- Measures tackle the state’s carbon emissions while aiding social & economic transitions
- State utilities commission will issue bonds that put money back into coal communities
Path to 100% Perspective:
Colorado is taking a proactive, pro-worker approach in the transition to a low-carbon economy – especially since a green movement “carries with it mounting concerns around how economically displaced communities will cope.” While sweeping plans to tackle climate change are in abundance, less proposals have spoken directly to the needs of local communities—particularly those with large numbers of jobs in the fossil fuel sector—and how people involved in that sector will cope once those jobs are phased out. Seeing the proactive approach by Colorado in addressing this issue is uplifting in that it is deals with a part of the conversation society often fails to address. Learn more in the Forbes article entitled “Energy Transition and Local action: The case of Colorado’s Coal Transition.”