Colorado is making historic strides in fighting climate change and protecting its communities.

Today, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed HB 19-1261, the Climate Action Plan to Reduce Carbon Pollution, and six other bills that put Colorado on a path to 100 percent clean energy. In total, Polis will sign a historic package of 13 bills into law this week that protect Colorado’s climate, public health and way of life.

Notably, the Climate Action Plan puts Colorado on a path to reduce carbon pollution 26 percent by 2025, 50 percent by 2030, and 90 percent by 2050, as compared to 2005 levels. This was the top legislative priority of our friends at Conservation Colorado.

“The Climate Action Plan ensures that, once again, Colorado is a national leader in the fight against climate change,” said Kelly Nordini, Executive Director of Conservation Colorado. “Thanks to the bold leadership of our pro-conservation trifecta, we now have economy-wide targets for reducing carbon pollution — targets that are critical for cleaning up our air, protecting our health, and preserving our Colorado way of life.”

Governor Polis was elected last November, in response to Coloradans’ call for a leader who will take on climate change. The progress this week is further evidence that elections matter.

And Colorado is not alone. In the absence of federal leadership to combat the climate crisis, states — red, blue and purple — across the country continue to take matters into their own hands. In recent weeks, New Jersey, Nevada, South Carolina and Washington have also all made significant climate and clean energy progress.