New Colorado Land Use Policy & Greenhouse Gas Co-benefits Study Identifies Potential to Substantially Reduce Pollution

Analysis outlines policies that could reduce emissions associated with new building developments by 30% and transportation by nearly 15%

Statewide - Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 - The Colorado Energy Office (CEO), in partnership with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), released the Colorado Land Use Policy & Greenhouse Gas Co-benefits Study on Monday. The study assesses the impact of land use policies, analyzing a number of actions - many similar to those the state legislature adopted in 2024 - with the potential to substantially reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with new residential buildings and transportation between now and 2050.

The study's results will help inform the projected emissions reduction benefits of the land use strategies included in key state plans, such as the Colorado Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap update (Roadmap 2.0), as well as from implementing recent land use legislation at the state and local level.

"Colorado is facing a large housing supply deficit today and anticipating significant future growth," said CEO Executive Director Will Toor. "By enacting policies that encourage growth near transit and in infill areas, the state can significantly lower the emissions of new development compared to the status quo. This report both quantifies the impact of legislation already enacted and provides analysis of potential future actions."

The analysis, which was completed by consulting firm ECOnorthwest, considered three potential residential growth scenarios for most of the state's metropolitan regions and several rural resort counties, where the State Demography Office anticipates 98% of Colorado's population growth will occur by 2050. These models included a baseline scenario that represents local land use regulations in recent "business-as-usual" conditions and two policy scenarios that included packages of new land use policies.

Notably, the study found that policy changes to encourage more compact housing within cities would significantly impact the type and location of new housing in ways that reduce the GHG pollution associated with new development, both from buildings and transportation. The analysis concluded that a robust policy package with a focus on higher density development could reduce building emissions associated with new development by 30% and transportation emissions by nearly 15%.

Some of the most meaningful policy changes modeled in the study were related to increasing transit-oriented development, allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and removing minimum parking requirements. Already, the state has passed a number of laws that are similar to those modeled policies, including:

The study also indicated that additional policies and investments beyond those modeled in the study and adopted by the legislature in 2024 could further enable the robust changes in land use patterns and multi-modal transportation needed to make a lower carbon and lower cost transportation future possible for many more Coloradans.

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