Colorado Local Policy Center

Colorado Greenhouse Gas Emissions Database

The Colorado Climate Greenhouse Gas Inventory Database catalogues all known adopted greenhouse gas inventory reports from all incorporated towns, cities, and counties in the State of Colorado.

In 2019, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed into law House Bill 1261, committing the State to a series of greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, including reducing emissions by 26 percent by 2025, 50 percent by 2030, and 90 percent by 2050 from 2005 levels. Additionally, according to the University of Yale’s Climate Opinion Map — the most comprehensive survey regarding climate change beliefs and perceptions — about 66% of residents in the Colorado are worried about climate change and 55% of residents believe that local officials should do more to address global warming. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the most important action communities, companies, and individuals and take to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change.

The Colorado Local Policy Center’s Colorado Greenhouse Gas Emissions Database tracks the annual amount of greenhouse gas emissions based on a community’s most recent greenhouse gas inventory. These inventories measure the amount of carbon emitted by a community on an annual basis, typically prepared by a contractor, a community’s sustainability department, or a combination of both. While not required by state or federal statute, these inventories are the most powerful tool for understanding whether a community will meet its GHG target goals.

The following maps show (1) a community’s total GHG emissions and (2) emissions per capita, which is the average greenhouse gas emissions per person. Per capita emissions provide a standardized measure of individual environmental impact within a population, and a helpful way to measure carbon impact per different-sized populations. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s (CDPHE) 2023 Colorado Statewide Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, the average MT CO2 per Capita was 19.605. However, because of Colorado’s resort communities, which have a low year-round population compared to the annual visitors, emissions per capita become a less reliable measurement because visitors’ populations are not incorporated. Conversely, Denver emits the most greenhouse gas emissions of any community, but as the largest City in the state, it has below-average per capita emissions. By utilizing both measurements, the database provides a complete picture of the Colorado communities’ GHG emissions.

Access Full Datasets

We acknowledge and caution that the database and maps may contain errors, despite using the best available public data that the Colorado Local Policy Center could locate. The utilized data has significant limitations detailed below. Please use with discretion.

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Key Takeaways

  • Colorado residents who live in urban areas generally have lower CO2 emissions than residents who live in rural areas.
  • Resort towns (such as Aspen, Vail, and Winter Park) have significantly higher CO2 emissions per capita than other communities. However, due to the large influx of visitors who are not included in the community’s population, measuring emissions per capita for these towns is not as reliable a measurement as communities with a more stable year-round population.
  • Within Front Range communities, Commerce City has the highest CO2 emissions per capita, with 31.78 CO2e/resident based on a 2019 inventory and population.
  • 33 of the 46 communities with GHG emission estimates have per capita emissions under 19,605 (the State’s 2023 reported per capita average).
  • Based on 2020 Census data, 4,301,311 Colorado residents live in an incorporated jurisdiction (City or Town). 2,080,405 residents live in an incorporated jurisdiction that has tracked or actively tracks community-wide GHG emissions (48.37%). If the Cities of Aurora and Colorado Springs were to track emissions, this figure would increase to 68.48%.

Data Limitations

  • The map shows carbon emissions per capita based on the community’s most recent reported GHG inventory. This includes emissions reported from 2014 to 2024. Reported historic emissions may not accurately reflect the community’s current emissions output. Instead of choosing to show the total carbon emissions per capita for a fixed year, this map provides a general understanding of which communities have higher carbon emissions per capita.
  • GHG inventory methodologies vary among different communities. The collected data, as a result, would be more accurate if each community adopted the same methodology for cataloging GHG emissions. A link to each GHG inventory is provided for more information on the methodology each community used. GHG inventories that only tracked municipal emissions (and not community emissions) were not included.
  • 46 of Colorado’s 273 incorporated municipalities have tracked and/or actively track GHG emissions. In other words, 2,080,405 residents live in an incorporated municipality that tracks emissions (out of

Reuse and Attribution

The Colorado Climate Action Plan Database is available for all to use under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.