As Colorado has sought to strengthen its response to climate change, the state has turned to local communities to hear their concerns and solutions.
State officials met with representatives of local governments, Durango area organizations and the public Thursday for a climate change workshop at the Durango Community Recreation Center. The workshop provided a forum for community members who detailed the effects of climate change on their lives, shared ideas for local and regional action and identified needed support from the state.
With the workshop, one of several across Colorado, the state aims to refine its climate policies and programs to better meet the needs of Colorado’s communities.
“We know what the main policy drivers are and some of the possible strategies, but how those get implemented in a more nuanced way you can’t do that without hearing from communities,” said Lauren McDonell, climate change outreach planner with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and one of the leaders of the workshop, in an interview.
Facilitators with the Keystone Policy Center led the meeting in which officials from an array of state agencies, including the Colorado Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation and Energy Office listened and engaged with community members and representatives from La Plata County, the city of Durango, San Juan Basin Public Health and local organizations like the Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency.
In one activity, workshop participants were asked to write how they have been impacted by climate change, posting sticky notes on poster paper. Many of the sticky notes identified wildfires, drought and anxiety about a climate-altered future, concerns that were shared during breakout sessions.
“The only time I ever thought about leaving this area was during the 416 Fire because of the smoke,” said Gail Harriss. “... I’m totally stressed thinking about when’s the next fire going to pop up.”
For much of the meeting the approximately 45 people who attended the workshop divided into two breakout groups. In one, they discussed the intersection of agriculture, water and public health, and in the other transportation and energy.
Those in the agriculture and water session called for additional forums and greater collaboration with farmers and ranchers to address water conservation.
Brian Devine, environmental health director for San Juan Basin Public Health, said it was time that Southwest Colorado’s communities acknowledge a future with less water and take action to mitigate the impacts.
Others weighed wise water use. Marty Pool, sustainability program manager with the city of Durango, called for a water consumption hierarchy “where we acknowledge the nuance” between different water uses.
Conversations about energy use and electric infrastructure in the energy and climate session transformed into analyses of affordable housing and the role that incentivizing climate-friendly building codes and practices could play in tackling both climate change and housing.
In both, participants identified ways the state could help Durango and other communities in the region respond to climate change. County commissioner Marsha Porter-Norton called for greater communication from the state for how it plans to address water issues. Laurie Dickson, executive director of 4CORE, a local energy efficiency nonprofit, said the state needed to help communities and utilities streamline rate structures for fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Variable charging station models and rates for fast charging pose a barrier to the expansion of electric vehicles, Dickson said.
Scott Baker asked for more educational outreach from the Department of Agriculture to inform landowners of the agency’s incentive programs.
Throughout the workshop, those involved shared their appreciation of the forum and spoke about the need for sustained engagement between the state and local communities on climate change. They called for additional workshops, something state officials said they plan to provide.
“Opportunities to share like this help alleviate some of the stress we are all feeling,” Baker said.
Thursday’s workshop was the last of seven held around the state. CDPHE and the other state agencies have also held in-person workshops in Aurora, Greeley, Pueblo, Trinidad, Lamar and Delta as they meet with communities for the first time since the state introduced its Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap.
In January 2021, the state released the roadmap that provides a framework for reaching its greenhouse emissions targets. A 2019 climate change bill passed by the Colorado Legislature set goals for decreasing greenhouse gases 26% by 2025, 50% by 2030 and 90% by 2050.
As Colorado increasingly implements policies and regulations to address climate change, including measures to phase out coal power plants and expand electric vehicle adoption, the workshops are meant help state agencies guide their efforts.
“There is a lot going on at the state in terms of funding and climate programs and policies, and different things coming through the Legislature,” McDonell said. “We know that every community is unique and that we can’t possibly anticipate the unique challenges and opportunities that exist in all parts of the state. We’re in listening mode just wanting to hear (from) people what their main concerns are, what their priorities are (and) what they want to make sure is on our radars.”
Each session has been different as Colorado’s diverse communities highlight their concerns and the action they want to see from the state. However, affordable housing and its intersection with climate change has been raised during every workshop, McDonell said.
For state agencies, the workshops have served as an opportunity to hear how Colorado’s rural communities are responding to climate change and how policies and programs made on the Front Range affect other parts of the state.
“We’ve been hearing from rural Colorado in a way that I don’t think many of us get to do very often,” McDonell said. “It’s just been incredibly eye-opening and inspiring because there’s a lot of people who really care about this issue from different angles and also care about the impacts of some of the policies and programs we’re implementing.”
The state will hold two virtual workshops later this month. The input from all of the workshops will be compiled into a report by the Keystone Policy Center, which will then be distributed to state agencies working to implement the greenhouse gas roadmap, as well as the governor’s office and local governments.
The report will then inform regulations, funding programs and other decisions state agencies make as they look to address climate change, McDonell said.
“We’re getting exactly what I was hoping that we would get out of it,” she said.
ahannon@durangoherald.com
