Dear Guardian,
Despite Colorado Governor Jared Polis’ commitment to confronting the climate crisis, Colorado is way off track to meet legally required greenhouse gas reduction goals.
That’s why this week we filed a lawsuit to get the state back on track for climate action.
Help us ensure Governor Jared Polis gets the message: for our future, it’s not enough to talk climate action, he has to make it happen.
In 2019, landmark climate legislation passed in Colorado committing the state to reducing greenhouse gases 26% by 2025, 50% by 2030, and 90% by 2050. The Legislature also set a deadline of July 1, 2020 for proposing new regulations to meet these goals.
Governor Polis heralded the new law, saying “in a state with climate-dependent industries like agriculture and the skiing industry, it’s important that we show leadership.”
Sadly, the latest reports show that on its current trajectory, Colorado won’t meet its climate targets on time. Even worse, July 1, 2020 passed with no proposed regulations.
We know Governor Jared Polis cares about the climate, but he needs to hear from us all that it’s not enough to just talk, he’s got to take action.
Our lawsuit is about justice. The climate crisis is disproportionately impacting low income communities and people of color. Many sources of air pollution fueling the crisis are also in neighborhoods that are disenfranchised and systematically excluded. For example, the Suncor oil refinery north of Denver regularly smothers predominantly Latino residents with toxic air pollution.
Tell Governor Polis to make justice a priority and make climate action a reality in Colorado.
For climate justice, it’s not enough to talk the talk, we have to walk the walk. Make sure Governor Polis gets the message.
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