City of Boulder Climate Action Plan Analysis Report

The City of Boulder Climate Action Plan Analysis Report, prepared by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) in May 2012, evaluates the cost-effectiveness and emissions impact of 19 demand-side management programs funded by the Climate Action Plan (CAP) tax. The analysis finds that while Boulder has achieved significant energy savings, it will not meet its 2012 Kyoto Protocol-based emissions reduction targets through current programs alone. RMI recommends transitioning toward more comprehensive, integrated, and long-term energy efficiency strategies and suggests that municipalization of the energy supply could significantly enhance the city's ability to reach its goals.

• Boulder is projected to have achieved 42.6% of its intended carbon reductions for the 2011-2012 period, failing to meet its initial ambitious emissions reduction targets.
• The most cost-effective emissions reductions are derived from residential and commercial lighting programs and audits, although these are insufficient to reach current CAP targets.
• A life-cycle assessment of program savings projected significantly higher savings for each program compared to the city's previous annual calculations.
• Residential programs generally outperformed commercial programs in cost-effectiveness, with a weighted average of $58 per metric ton of CO2e reduced compared to $97 for commercial programs.
• The analysis identifies specific high-performing programs in terms of cost-effectiveness, including residential lighting, 10 for Change, and both Commercial and Residential EnergySmart.
• Sensitivity analysis indicates that as early-stage programs like EnergySmart mature and receive full funding, their cost-effectiveness will improve significantly; Residential EnergySmart is projected to improve from 100.7 to 21.5 $/mton of CO2e, and Commercial EnergySmart from 69.1 to 13.9 $/mton CO2e.
• Renewable energy systems, incentivized through grants and rebates, showed below-average returns, with solar grants being more cost-effective than solar rebates.
• RMI suggests that the exploration of municipalization of the energy provider role could significantly increase Boulder's capacity to meet its CAP goals when combined with enhanced energy efficiency efforts.
• To reach future targets, the city is advised to move beyond simple programs and encourage residents and businesses to adopt long-term thinking regarding building investments and energy use.

APA

Torbert, R., Newcomb, J., Franconi, E., Bell, M., & Tupper, K. (2012). City of Boulder Climate Action Plan Analysis Report. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2012-04_BoulderClimateActionPlan.pdf

Chicago

Torbert, Roy, James Newcomb, Ellen Franconi, Mathias Bell, and Kendra Tupper. City of Boulder Climate Action Plan Analysis Report. RMI, 2012. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2012-04_BoulderClimateActionPlan.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Torbert |first1=Roy |last2=Newcomb |first2=James |last3=Franconi |first3=Ellen |last4=Bell |first4=Mathias |last5=Tupper |first5=Kendra |title=City of Boulder Climate Action Plan Analysis Report |publisher=RMI |date=21 May 2012 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2012-04_BoulderClimateActionPlan.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{torbert2012city, author = {Torbert, Roy and Newcomb, James and Franconi, Ellen and Bell, Mathias and Tupper, Kendra}, title = {{City of Boulder Climate Action Plan Analysis Report}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2012}, month = may, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2012-04_BoulderClimateActionPlan.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }