Colorado has a goal of more than 80% of its energy coming from renewable sources by 2030, and 100% net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Colorado gubernatorial candidates Michael Bennet and Phil Weiser agree that climate change and meeting the state’s emissions reductions goals must be a priority. Though, as with other policy topics, the two Democrats have struggled to differentiate their platforms on the campaign trail.
Bennet has been one of Colorado’s senators since 2009. Weiser is the state’s attorney general, a role he’s had since 2019.
Energy and greenhouse gas emissions
Bennet worked closely with the Biden administration on the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s signature piece of climate legislation, which allocated billions of dollars for renewable energy and infrastructure.
He was troubled to see so much of that money clawed back by the Trump administration, though he said funding for some agricultural conservation programs is still there.
“I think that we have the opportunity to continue to work with our agricultural sector, our farmers and ranchers, to do the work that's good, both for water and for soil health and for climate,” he said.
“I think Colorado should adopt the cap and invest program,” he said. “To join states like California and Washington state, and also Canada, to move us forward on an economy-wide emissions reduction plan, which I think would truly make us one of the leaders in this country.”
New York also has a cap-and-invest program.
Cap-and-invest programs essentially put hard limits on greenhouse gas emissions, and make businesses pay for what they emit. The goal is to encourage polluting businesses to adopt greener practices. The money then goes to help the state achieve its climate goals, whether that’s through renewable energy projects or other programs.
Weiser said he was not opposed to a cap-and-invest program, but said Bennet doesn’t have enough information about what it would cost and how it would work in Colorado. His focus is on expanding the renewable infrastructure the state already has.
“One of the ideas I've talked about, which is really important, is to make sure that providers of solar, providers of storage have access to the grid and are able to be bringing competition, bringing innovation,” he said.
He said he wants to build on the successes of the state’s rural electric co-ops that are making strides to all of their energy coming from renewables.
“You can see this with some of the cooperatives…ones on the Western Slope, that are getting close to even a hundred percent of clean energy commitments,” he said. “That’s inspiration for our state. We're going to keep moving ahead. We're not going to let this administration put our heads in the sand or move behind.”
Drought and the Colorado River
Colorado is in the midst of historic drought, coming off of a record-breaking poor snowpack winter. To make matters worse, Colorado and the six other states that use the Colorado River have yet to come to an agreement over who will take cuts to water usage in the basin after 2026. Colorado River governors appoint the negotiators, and can play a big role in the process.
Both Bennet and Weiser agree that Colorado’s stance throughout negotiations has been appropriate: water users in Colorado and the Upper Basin are already seeing their water supply decrease due to climate change, making it very difficult to commit to further cuts in water usage.
Bennet said there could be a path forward for a water conservation program in Colorado, but it would have to be compensated.
“It needs to be voluntary,” he said. “It's the only way it will ever work. And we are also going to need to find resources to be able to invest in the infrastructure that's going to be required, and a lot of those resources are going to have to be federal.”
Weiser emphasized the importance of that infrastructure, and said Colorado needs to step up its water game beyond storage in reservoirs.
“If you think about ditches, if you're just having water subject to evaporation, you're not doing a great job of conserving it as opposed to covering water with what could be solar panels,” he said. “If you're having leaky infrastructure that's not updated, that's not the best way to conserve and protect water.”
Bennet said the states need to reach a deal, or the consequences could be dire.
“If we end up getting this decision crammed down on us by the Department of Interior or by the Supreme Court of the United States, I think that would be a bad mistake,” he said.
Weiser agreed, but emphasizes that his eight years as attorney general have prepared him for any legal challenges.
“I know our state, I know our state water management and I know the Colorado River Compact inside and out,” he said. “That means I start on day one, having worked closely with Becky Mitchell, our commissioner for the Colorado River, I start on day one knowing the Colorado River Compact and the law of the river, prepared to protect Colorado.”
Public lands and responding to the Trump administration
Weiser also said he’s prepared to fight the Trump administration’s attempts to privatize, sell off, and roll back protections for public lands.
“This administration's attitude on public lands and on environmental stewardship is appalling,” he said. “I am going to be on the front lines standing up against it, calling out leaders or officials like Doug Burgum, who Senator Bennet voted for, for an agenda that I believe is wrong, un-American and often illegal.”
Bennet says he’s proud of his record fighting against the administration’s onslaught against public lands. He says he doesn’t agree with Burgum on most public lands issues, but he doesn’t regret his vote to confirm him as Interior Secretary.
“I would square it because of the biweekly meetings that we do to make sure that Colorado is getting the fire resources that it needs to be able to deal with the existential threat of fire danger,” he said. “By the way, it's not just Colorado. It's the entire American West.”
Bennet said his role in the Senate has often been that of convenor, of someone who can bring the Western caucus together across party lines. He said he can bring that experience and the relationships he’s built during his time in the Senate with other state leaders and federal agencies to the governor’s office.
“I would hope to be able to bring together governors from throughout the West to deal with these public lands, natural resources, climate issues, and certainly our water issues, in ways that treat them with the urgency that they deserve,” Bennet said.
Throughout the race, Weiser has positioned himself as a fighter, as someone who will stand up to Trump and fight for Colorado. Though Weiser said he can be a convenor, too.
“Colorado, by something like 80 to 20 believes the principle that I espouse: public lands belong to, the public should be kept to the public,” he said. “This is not just an 80-20 issue in Colorado in terms of popularity. It's an 80-20 issue in Montana, which means I'll be able to work hand in hand with the Montana governor or the Wyoming governor to defend this principle.”
Democratic voters will decide which message resonates more with them on Tuesday June 30th.
Information on where to return your ballot and how to track your ballot after it’s been returned is available at GoVoteColorado.gov. Voters can also view sample ballots for both the Democratic and Republican primaries, where there are three gubernatorial candidates: Scott Bottoms, Barbara Kirkmeyer, and Victor Marx. In addition, there are two Unity Party candidates, Paul Fiorino and Jeff Peckman.
Copyright 2026 Rocky Mountain Community Radio. This story was shared via Rocky Mountain Community Radio, a network of public media stations in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico, including Aspen Public Radio.
