Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, and we are seeing the effects in Colorado firsthand. Rising temperatures, widespread drought, extensive wildfires, and air pollution pose a threat to both our environment and economy. In 2020 alone, Colorado suffered $1.7 billion in costs from wildfires and drought. Therefore It is absolutely essential that we invest in climate change mitigation and adaptation now.  The Build Back Better Plan, which President Joe Biden visited Colorado this week to promote, would invest in improving our country’s infrastructure and shifting to greener energy over the next eight years, putting the country on track to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

It’s not surprising President Biden chose to come to Colorado to promote his plan. We’ve seen the smog that covers up our mountains. Air pollution is a severe threat to the health and well-being of our citizens, especially communities of color who are disproportionately affected by this pollution. We can reduce smog by transitioning to Electric Vehicles (EVs). The plan includes investments in EVs, including incentives for American-made EVs, building 500,000 EV charging stations across the US by 2030 and converting at least 20 percent of school buses from gas to electric. It would also replace diesel transit vehicles. Cleaner air is vital to keeping our beautiful environment safe for everybody to enjoy.

With summers becoming hotter, not only in Colorado but even in places like Portland and Seattle, climate change poses a serious threat to our power grid. Build Back Better invests in upgrades to the new electric grid to make it more resilient to climate change and reduce carbon emissions. The policy would create a Clean Electricity Standard that would require a portion of US electricity to come from zero-carbon sources like wind and solar power. This would put America on the path to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035.

Historically marginalized and disproportionately impacted communities have suffered from environmental injustices for too long. The Build Back Better legislation that is currently being amended and debated in the U.S. House of Representatives and will be considered by the U.S. Senate soon, would help address these injustices by targeting investments to support infrastructure in the communities that face the greatest physical and financial threats from disasters driven by climate change.

Climate policies in Build Back Better, which also includes a number of other investments in workers, families, and a fairer economy, will be paid for by increasing taxes on wealthy people and big corporations. While fair share tax policies might make some in Washington uncomfortable, they’re very popular with Colorado voters. While defenders of the status quo—including well-funded corporate lobbyists—are pushing Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper to oppose these plans, they should stand up to them and do what big majorities of Colorado voters support fair share tax policies, including a majority of unaffiliated voters.

As Coloradans, we’ve seen just how bad the effects of climate change can be on the health and prosperity of our communities. Congress needs to take swift action and pass the Build Back Better Plan without compromise on the climate components in order to ensure that Coloradans and the economy they build are healthy for years to come.

Pegah Jalali is an environmental policy analyst at Colorado Fiscal Institute. She has a background in environmental economics and her work is focused on the use of tax and fiscal policy to improve climate mitigation and advance environmental justice in Colorado.