DENVER – Yesterday Governor Jared Polis signed HB23-1210—The Carbon Management Act. This bill was sponsored by State Representative Ruby Dickson and State Senators Chris Hansen and Kevin Priola.

The new law requires the Colorado Energy Office to develop a roadmap examining the removal of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. Methods for doing this include carbon dioxide removal, carbon storage, carbon capture, and carbon utilization. The roadmap will analyze agriculture, construction, materials manufacturing, forest management, food and beverage, reclaimed mining, and heavy industry projects to create a robust picture of carbon management potential in the state.

“HB23-1210 is both a climate and a jobs bill that allows the state to learn by doing,” said Representative Ruby Dickson. “By facilitating the scale-up of carbon management in the state, we will be closer to reaching our new net-zero emissions goals and gaining information on how to create quality jobs and take advantage of opportunities for widespread state adoption. This bill is the first step in making Colorado a national and even global leader in the space of carbon management, and I am proud to have championed it in my first session.”

“The sources of CO2 emissions in Colorado are diverse and come from each sector of our economy,” said Senator Hansen. “The roadmap and research enabled by HB23-1210 will allow the state to evaluate carbon management options and their impacts, especially in the hard to decarbonize parts of our economy like industrial and manufacturing operations. This bill represents a new era of carbon reduction for Colorado, and I am proud to have sponsored this important legislation.”

This legislation aligns with Colorado’s goal to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2035 and 100% by 2050.

“We need to continue pursuing a variety of clean energy options, and Colorado also needs to explore the vast potential our state holds to capture, remove, and permanently store greenhouse gasses at a scale that will meaningfully contribute to our climate goals while growing good, green jobs for workers,” said BlueGreen Alliance Colorado State Policy Organizer Elena Santarella. “This new law will allow Colorado to employ new methods to tackle carbon emissions and examine the ways that these emerging technologies can create quality jobs in a variety of hard to decarbonize sectors. The BlueGreen Alliance is proud to support this legislation and we look forward to its implementation.”