News Release: Colorado Climate Project Launced, continued

"With those we already have engaged in this process -- Democrats and Republicans, public sector and private sector, Front Range and Western Slope -- we have started a process that represents the entire state of Colorado," said Klapper.

The panel that the project directors will appoint is likely to spend a little over a year developing a recommended plan of actions that can be taken in Colorado. Once approved by the project directors, the recommendations will be presented to Colorado's next governor, General Assembly, local governments, and others for their consideration.

The Colorado Climate Project is patterned after advisory panels that have developed or are developing climate-action plans in several states around the country, including Arizona, New Mexico, and Montana. The Colorado project, however, is the first such effort undertaken in the United States as a private initiative.

"We are bringing Coloradans together to reduce our contribution and vulnerability to climate change," said Stephen Saunders, president of the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization. "In Colorado, we produce more carbon dioxide, the major heat-trapping gas, than do 174 of the world's 212 nations. What we do here matters."

The Center for Climate Strategies (CCS), a nonprofit organization of experts from different fields, will provide the same kind of assistance to the Colorado panel as it is to state advisory panels in Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, and elsewhere. CCS already is beginning work on an inventory of existing and a forecast of future Colorado sources of heat-trapping gases. CCS will also provide consensus-building facilitation assistance and and cost-benefit and other analyses of measures selected by the panel for consideration.

The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization is a two-year old mainstream coalition with 28 partner organizations:

• The City and County of Denver, Colorado's largest city, and nine other local governments: the City of Fort Collins, City of Boulder, Summit County, City of Aspen, Town of Frisco, Town of Breckenridge, Town of Silverthorne, and Town of Telluride.
• Denver Water, the state's largest water provider.
• Qwest, the state's largest business, and nine other businesses: Aspen Skiing Company, Domani, Intrawest Colorado, New Belgium Brewiing Company, RBI Strategic Research, Roche Colorado, Westcliffe Pubishers, Wild Oats Natural Marketplace, and Wright Water Engineers.
• Seven nonprofit organizations: Boulder Community Hospital, Colorado Association of Ski Towns, Colorado Mountain Club, National Wildlife Federation, the Nature Conservancy of Colorado, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, and Western Resource Advocates.

Also available are fact sheets describing the Colorado Climate Project and the role of the Center for Climate Strategies.

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