Climate and Natural Hazards

Public Health Progress

The State's progress on addressing climate change impacts on public health is a highlight of 2024.

• The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) developed the first of its kind 2024 Heat Action Plan, which sets goals and direction for CDPHE related to extreme heat, including public/health provider communications, cooling centers, data, and surveillance. Learn more by visiting CDPHE's heat and health website and CDPHE's heat-related illness data dashboard. 
• The Prevention Services Division created a new climate and health team through funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) to build Colorado's public health workforce capacity to identify, prevent, and respond to climate-related health impacts, especially for Coloradans at greatest risk.
• Further, CDPHE's Office of Public Health Practice, Planning, and Local Partnerships (OPHP) is updating Colorado's State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP), which will span 2025-2029, where Climate Change is one of six priorities. While the previous SHIP had a focus on "climate change and air quality" and included an emissions focus, the upcoming SHIP separates Climate Change into its own priority, which will include strategies related to extreme heat and wildfire smoke for the first time.

• “Prohibit Landscaping Practices for Water Conservation” (SB24-005) was passed in 2024, which prohibited certain landscaping practices that do not help to conserve water, such as the installation of nonfunctional turf, artificial turf, or planting of invasive species on newly developed commercial, industrial, or institutional property. It also prohibits the installation of nonfunctional turf in medians, parking lots, and right-of-way streets.
• The Office of Sustainability created a Water Efficient Landscape Policy to reduce outdoor water use on outdoor landscapes for new construction, substantial renovation, and redevelopment by reducing nonfunctional turf and requiring water-efficient landscaping at State facilities.
• 2024 was another challenging year in Colorado for natural disasters, including destructive wildfires like the Alexander Mountain and Stone Canyon Fires that resulted in loss of homes and a fatality, as well as historic flooding in Ouray and Ridgeway that resulted in mudslides and debris flows. Due to Colorado investing additional time and resources to achieve “enhanced” status for the State Hazard Mitigation Plan, this will allow Colorado to have access to increased funding opportunities for post-disaster mitigation dollars. 
  • Colorado received “enhanced” status in 2020, and since then has received approximately $30.3M total for seven Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs (HMGP), which is about $7.6M more than would have been received without this status. 
  • This includes an additional $7.1M for disasters in 2023, and about $5.3M for three major wildfires in 2024: Alexander Mountain, Stone Canyon, and Quarry wildfires.
• In 2024 the Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (DHSEM) was awarded more than $8.8 million for 13 projects from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through their Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant programs. These projects will be implemented in communities across Colorado and support wildfire, flood, wind, and infrastructure mitigation activities. 
• Building off of the success of the 2023 pilot of the Climate Resilience Challenge, a set-aside funding opportunity available to local communities through DOLA’s Energy/Mineral Impact Assistance Fund (EIAF), an additional $10M was allocated to this fund in 2024, with $31M having been awarded to date. 
• The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) was awarded $1.9M through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block (EECBG) Program administered by the U.S. Department of Energy, to support local government staff capacity and provide technical support on energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. A total of eight awards were distributed to recipients, who are in the process of hiring staff and/or consultants to support this work at the local level.
• State wildfire mitigation efforts have been active in 2024. This year the Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program (COSWAP) contracted or awarded just over $19,850,000 to 55 projects fuels reduction and training within the Workforce Development and Landscape Resilience Investment programs. The workforce development projects were awarded through two funding rounds and will treat up to 1,235 acres, reducing wildfire risk to life, property and infrastructure while supporting conservation corps and Department of Corrections’ SWIFT crews. Additionally, $7,241,580.38 was awarded to 31 projects for the treatment of 3,715 acres of forest health and wildfire risk reduction work and to increase capacity by providing communities with the resources and staffing necessary to conduct future forest health and wildfire risk reduction work.
• Led by the Governor’s Office, the legislature passed the groundbreaking SB 24-230, titled “Oil and Gas Production Fees,” which is expected to result in upwards of $100M in additional funding for transit efforts in Colorado, as well as climate adaptation wildlife and ecosystem conservation efforts at Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).

• In 2024, the State released an updated Climate Change in Colorado Report, which helps us to better understand how climate change is impacting our state, as well as the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap 2.0, which outlines ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas pollution in Colorado 26% by 2025, 50% by 2030, and 100% by 2050. 
• The Natural Disaster Mitigation Enterprise continues to hold board meetings, making progress in the development of the grant program, with the first round of applications anticipated to be released in early 2025. The Enterprise provides grants to local governments to implement resilience and natural disaster mitigation measures, including matching funds required by Federal mitigation grants.
• In a multi-year partnership between Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), CPW and the Governor’s Office of Climate Preparedness, along with the Outdoor Recreation Industry Office (OREC), Colorado unveiled its keystone initiative for climate adaptation, biodiversity resilience and outdoor recreation, Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy. This strategy will set north-star science and data-driven goals and a shared vision on climate resilient conservation and outdoor recreation to efficiently coordinate conservation efforts and ensure a thriving future for Colorado’s outdoors. The effort will provide cutting edge tools, funding and technical assistance to locally driven Outdoor Regional Partnerships, federal land managers, and state staff alike in pursuit of those unified outcomes.

• The Wildfire Ready Watersheds Program continues to make significant progress, awarding $7-10M of Federal funds to local Wildfire Ready Action Plans. These plans will ensure that local values and community-scale data is integrated into Wildfire Ready Watersheds projects. 
• The 24-member Wildfire Resiliency Code Board, initiated by Governor Polis and established by SB 23-166, met monthly throughout 2024 to develop minimum Wildfire Resiliency codes to enhance community safety and resiliency. After a series of listening sessions and hearings, the Board will adopt the codes by July 2025 and applicable local jurisdictions will adopt the codes by October 2025.
• The Colorado Resiliency Office hosted a FEMA course for local planners titled “MGT 474: Mitigating Hazards through Land-Use Planning” for about 40 participants in May 2024. This training, which offers solutions for reducing risk using planning tools and strategies, was modeled after the Planning for Hazards guidance, which was developed by Colorado! 
• Colorado is supporting disaster survivors in rebuilding more resiliently post-disaster. The Housing Recovery Program has provided $1,827,487 in hazard mitigation grants or loans to homeowners. The Sustainable Rebuilding Program Recovery and Electrification Program managed by DOLA has provided $1,130,000 in rebates to support rebuilding that meets or exceeds  high performance building codes and standards adopted by local communities and the installation of voluntary sustainable building elements that exceed local code requirements, including the incorporation of high-efficiency equipment such as cold climate or ground source heat pump systems, induction stoves, and heat pump water heaters.