EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program is providing a total of $5 billion in grants to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop and implement ambitious plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. Authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act, this two-phase program offers both noncompetitive planning grants and competitive implementation grants.

The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) received a CPRG planning grant in July of 2023. The CPRG planning grant requires that grantees develop a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP); a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) due in 2025; and a Status Report due at the end of the award period in 2027. After a series of stakeholder meetings with local governments, state agencies, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, CEO submitted its PCAP on March 1, 2024. The update to the state Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap also informed the state’s PCAP. 

Colorado’s PCAP spans the entire state and is organized by state, local government, and Ute Mountain Ute priority measures to reduce greenhouse gas and other pollution, including both policy changes and incentives. The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe determined priority measures specific to its community needs and has authority to implement measures as a sovereign entity.

For questions, comments, or more information on local government measures and engagement, please contact Christine Berg, christine.berg@state.co.us.

The state of Colorado, municipalities, counties, tribes, tribal consortia, and territories were eligible to apply for competitive implementation grants based on the measures included in Colorado’s PCAP. CEO submitted applications for multiple implementation grants to fund both local government and state-implemented measures in April 2024. The EPA expects to make notification of funding announcements later this summer and awards this fall.