There are several ongoing and impending rule making hearings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado by sector, a new memo from Colorado Legislative Council Staff reports.

Relative to 2005 levels of carbon emissions, House Bill 1261 passed last year established goals of a 26% reduction by 2025, a 50% reduction by 2030 and a 90% cut by 2050. It charged the Air Quality Control Commission to issue rules for lowering and monitoring emissions.

In the near term, the AQCC later this month will hold a hearing pertaining to the adoption of regional haze limits on the electric power and coal mining sectors. Those actions are estimated to reduce emissions by the largest amount within the next 10 years compared to the other proposals underway or recently enacted.

Ongoing related activities include a transportation electrification plan, oil and gas rule making under a comprehensive 2019 law, and scheduled consideration of vehicle miles traveled and vehicle emissions standards.

Although without a timeline, the memo listed additional regulatory work intended for 2021, to include benchmark and performance standards for buildings, industrial energy and emissions audits, and a renewal natural gas standard for gas utilities. Some of those actions would require authorization from the legislature and accompanying funding. Legislative Council Staff noted that an existing renewable natural gas law could support landfill and wastewater methane regulation.