National Information |
Regional Information |
Climate Change Activities
Climate change is an EPA Region 8 priority, and is being considered in the work we do throughout the regional office, including the following program areas:
Air Quality | Pollution Prevention | Solid Waste |
State Partnerships | Internal Operations | Groundwater |
Environmental Education | Ecosystems Remediation | Brownfields |
Ecosystems Protection | Wetlands and Watersheds | Wastewater |
Emergency Response | Superfund Remedial | Tribal Assistance |
Technical Enforcement | Environmental Justice | NEPA |
In 2008, we developed an EPA Region 8 Climate Change Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan) to demonstrate our continued commitment to this issue. The draft Strategic Plan underwent a 45-day public review and comment period that ended October 6, 2008. This draft of the Strategic Plan is available below, and is currently being updated to incorporate the comments we received, and reflect the status of our activities. The Strategic Plan and its appendices are PDF files (about PDF).
- Draft Region 8 Climate Change Strategic Plan (30 pp, 2.2 MB)
- Appendix A: Climate Change Activities Matrix - 2008 Update (13 pp, 88K)
- Appendix B: Summary of State Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories in EPA Region 8 (9 pp, 264K)
- Appendix C: Comparison of State Climate Change Action Plans - Colorado, Utah, Montana (5 pp, 206K)
The objectives of the Strategic Plan are to:
- Assess and plan for the effects of climate change on current and future responsibilities of the regional office
- Identify and implement goals and priority activities that have the highest potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Identify and implement goals and priority activities that have the highest potential to increase our capacity to adapt to climate variability
- Support our partners in their response to the challenge of climate change through knowledge building, technical assistance, and partnerships
- Demonstrate the specific accomplishments of the Plan.
- We are leading-by-example with our state-of-the-art green building, which has received a gold level of LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for new construction, and is being used as a laboratory for green building design and operating techniques.
- We are achieving results through EPA's voluntary partnership programs and initiatives, including ENERGY STARĀ®, WasteWise, the Coal Combustion Products Partnership, SmartWay, and the Federal Electronics Challenge.
- We are also achieving results through other means, such as revitalization of contaminated lands, enforcement actions, climate change education, and other ongoing program activities.
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Laura Farris
EPA Region 8 Climate Change Coordinator
1595 Wynkoop Street
Mail Code 8P-SA
Denver, CO 80202-1129
Email: farris.laura@epa.gov
Phone: 303-312-6388
State and Municipal Actions to Address Climate Change in EPA Region 8:
States and municipalities in EPA Region 8 are addressing climate change through various means. In addition to reducing greenhouse gases, their activities are realizing co-benefits such as lower energy bills, improved air quality, less traffic congestion, and increased energy security. The following charts illustrate the actions being taken by our six states and various municipalities:
Activities to Address Climate Change by EPA Region 8 States
Programs | CO | MT | ND | SD | UT | WY |
EPA Clean Energy-Environment Partner | X | X | ||||
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory | X | X | X | X | X | |
Climate Action Plan | X | X | X | |||
Climate Registry | X | X | X | X | ||
Western Climate Initiative - Partner | X | X | ||||
Western Climate Initiative - Observer | X | X | ||||
Renewable Portfolio Standard - Mandatory | X | X | ||||
Renewable Portfolio Standard - Voluntary | X | X | X |
Activities to Address Climate Change by EPA Region 8 Municipalities
Programs | CO | MT | ND | SD | UT | WY |
Signatories to the Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement | 16 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
ICLEI Members | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
Climate Change Knowledge Building Series
Climate Change 101 (4pp, 1609K)
Some of the sites listed below are not on the EPA Web site.
Region 8 State Climate Change Information
Greenhouse Gas Inventories - 2007
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Colorado Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Reference Case Projections 1990-2020
Montana Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Reference Case Projections 1990-2020
South Dakota Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Reference Case Projections 1990-2020
Utah Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Reference Case Projections 1990-2020
Wyoming Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Reference Case Projections 1990-2020
Climate Action Plans
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Colorado Climate Action Plan, November 2007
Montana Climate Change Action Plan, November 2007
Utah Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change and Final Report, October 2007