By Pegah Jalali

Colorado is already experiencing the effects of a warming climate: hotter summers, longer wildfire seasons, more smoke exposure, and mounting pressure on critical infrastructure and water-dependent industries. These changes are not abstract. They influence public health, household costs, and the reliability of roads, bridges, and stormwater systems, while increasing the risk of disruptive, high-loss events.

Across the impacts we quantify, total projected costs from 2025 to 2050 are on the order of $50 billion to $54 billion, of which $36 billion to $37 billion represents additional costs directly attributable to climate change, plus defined resilience investments.

This executive summary highlights projected climate-related damages and resilience needs from 2025 to 2050. It is intended for policymakers, community leaders, and reporters who need a clear, comparable set of numbers to understand the scale of the challenge. Results are shown under two global emissions pathways that bracket plausible futures: a medium-high pathway (SSP3-7.0) and a high-end emissions pathway (SSP5-8.5).

Last Updated: