Climate activists propose Colorado ballot initiative to ban oil and gas drilling by 2030

A coalition of environmental groups and activists is proposing a Colorado ballot issue to ban all permitting of oil and gas wells after 2030.

In a press release, the coalition announced that it has submitted language to the Colorado Legislative Council to place a ballot measure on the 2024 statewide ballot “to rein in fracking in Colorado.”

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The umbrella organization, Safe & Healthy Colorado, is self-described on its website as a “coalition of grassroots organizations born from the will of the people of Colorado and the visionary leadership of long-time local organizers.”

The group said Gov. Jared Polis has reneged on a promise of “bold climate action” in the four years since he was elected and that about 1,000 new oil and gas wells are being permitted every year.

“Emissions from oil and gas production and combustion are the #1 source of both our state’s contribution to the climate crisis and our ‘severe’ ozone air pollution issues along the Front Range,” Micah Parkin, executive director of 350 Colorado — a member of the coalition — said in a press release. “We need to begin phasing out new permits for oil and gas fracking to protect our health, safety, and children’s futures.”

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Oil industry executives disagree, saying oil and gas will be needed for decades into the future and that a ban on drilling in Colorado would damage Colorado’s economy and harm consumers.

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“The proposed ballot measure should be a non-starter for Coloradans who have spent the past year suffering from high energy prices at home and at the pump,” said Kait Schwartz, director of American Petroleum Institute Colorado. “If one thing has become clear over the past year-and-a-half, it’s that the world will continue to utilize natural gas and oil for decades to come.

“Amazing work has been done so that Colorado voters don’t need to choose between having the energy they need and use every day and safeguarding people and the environment. Unnecessary measures such as this are little more than a distraction.”

“Banning oil and natural gas during a supply shortage will lead to even higher costs at the pump, increased home heating costs, and more inflation for every Coloradan,” said Dan Haley, president and CEO of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association.

According to the Colorado Secretary of State, it will require 124,238 valid signatures on petitions to place the measure on the ballot.

The Legislative Council will schedule a public hearing within two weeks of the submission, at which council staff will review the initiative’s language to see that it accomplishes the proponent’s goal.

The Office of Legislative Legal Services and Legislative Council Staff will prepare written comments of the proposal prior to the review and comment hearing and make the comments available on the Legislative Council website.

The final version of the proposal is then filed with the Secretary of State, and a public hearing before the Initiative Title Setting Review Board will be held. Then petitions can be printed for circulation.

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