Blog by: Kalista Thomas
The Colorado River is the main source of water for seven states, tribal communities, and even flows into parts of Mexico.[i] The apportionment of this river has been a concern for many years, with it first being addressed in the 1922 Colorado River Compact.[ii] There have been many arguments concerning the apportionment of the river over the last hundred years, and the problem is only going to get worse.[iii] The 1922 Colorado River Compact was designed to be a solution to the issue of water distribution, but instead it created a problem by accidentally overestimating the water flow which led to incorrect apportionment.[iv] This problem has now become more drastic given the significant drops in water levels leading to shortages and drought.[v] The seven states are now trying to focus on water conservation, but this is a temporary fix. [vi] The over apportionment has created a water crisis, but the issue is only going to get worse, leading to a sever water crisis, because the already scarce water levels are decreasing due to climate change [vii]
The areas surrounding the Colorado river are being directly affected by climate change issues. [viii] These areas are experiencing longer drought periods as well as higher temperatures, causing not only increased evaporation, but also an increase in water usage for crops and irrigation. [ix] Climate change is the cause for the extreme droughts, and without these droughts the water level would not have gotten to a low enough point to need water usage regulations.[x] The 1922 Colorado River Compact was written when it was assumed that the climate would remain stable, which it has not.[xi] Now we are seeing an increase in temperature causing a decrease in water levels, and an increase in water necessity for the “drier soils and higher water demands from crops.”[xii]
There have been efforts by the United States and other countries to implement economic changes to combat climate change.[xiii] In 2016, the Paris Agreement went into effect with plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with the goal of “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels”.[xiv] The treaty runs on a five-year cycle with included countries contributing their own plans on how they are going to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their own country. [xv] During President Trump’s first term, he withdrew the United states from the Paris Agreement, but in 2021 President Biden officially reinstated the U.S. [xvi]January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order to withdraw the United Sates from the Paris Agreement for the second time, a decision which is damaging for not just the United States, but the greater fight against greenhouse gas emissions.[xvii]
The President states the reasoning for the first withdrawal to be “the unfair economic burden imposed on American workers, businesses, and taxpayers by U.S. pledges made under the Agreement” [xviii] and that “[t]he United States will not sabotage our own industries while China pollutes with impunity.”[xix] This reasoning does not hold much merit given the fact that under the agreement each party has sovereignty over the contributions made to reduce emissions.[xx]The United States has the second largest greenhouse gas emissions, with China being the first, [xxi] but China continues to be an active member of the Paris Agreement.[xxii]
The issue with the United States leaving the agreement goes beyond greenhouse gas emissions affecting climate change.[xxiii] With the United States not being a party in the agreement, they no longer have any say in the governing of the Paris Agreement.[xxiv] As a result, the U.S. will lose its right to vote, nominate members, and participate in emission trading under the Agreement.[xxv] Furthermore, the withdrawal of the U.S. makes it more difficult to keep other countries motivated to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions.[xxvi] Other countries seeing the second largest emitter no longer contributing negatively effects the motivation of other countries to continue to contribute.[xxvii] This will also create an issue for the Paris Agreement’s global finance goal because President Trump intends to halt financial contributions to the Agreement from the U.S.[xxviii]
The Colorado River crisis is not just affected by the emissions of the U.S., but the whole world.[xxix] If the U.S withdraws and no longer has a duty to assist with global warming issues in the world, other countries may begin to follow.[xxx] Climate change is not an issue that affects just one country, and for the Colorado River and the people who rely on it, time is running out.[xxxi] The Colorado River affects the lives of around 35 to 40 million people. [xxxii] The water is used for agriculture, hydropower production, wildlife, and many other crucial functions.[xxxiii] The river and surrounding areas face the possibility of months of extreme drought if the temperature continues to rise just two degrees.[xxxiv] The temperature will continue to increase if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced because these gas emissions “build up in the atmosphere and warm the climate.”[xxxv] With the gas emissions causing a rise in temperature, the extreme drought and drying of the land will lead to a severe drop in the water levels of the Colorado River.[xxxvi]
The U.S. withdrawal is set to be formalized in January 2026.[xxxvii] This must not happen. In 2017 other world leaders had to step up to try and fill the void that the withdrawal created.[xxxviii] The effects of the United States pulling out of the Agreement were felt around the world even though the U.S. was only officially withdrawn for four months.[xxxix] The United States should reconsider its costly decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement because this issue is bigger than just the United States alone and will require compliance from the whole world.[xl]
[i] Antonia Hadjimichael, The Colorado River Crisis: Water Shortages, Climate Change, and Substantial Management, Penn. St. Inst. Of Energy and the Env’t, https://iee.psu.edu/news/blog/colorado-river-crisis-water-shortages-climate-change-and-sustainable-management#:~:text=The%20primary%20challenge%20is%20how,promised %2C%20creating%20tensions%20among%20stakeholders (last updated September 18, 2025) [https://perma.cc/UPE4-VGJ6].
[ii] Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. v. Coachella Valley Water Dist., 329 Cal. Rptr.3d 373, 381( 4th Cal. Dist. Ct. App. 2025).
[iii] Id.
[iv] Hadjimichael, supra note 1.
[v] Hadjimichael, supra note 1.
[vi] Hadjimichael, supra note 1.
[vii] Hadjimichael, supra note 1.
[viii] Hadjimichael, supra note 1.
[ix] Hadjimichael, supra note 1.
[x] Colorado River Basin Has Lost Water Equal to Lake Mead due to Climate Change, Advancing Earth and Space Sci. (July 24, 2023) https://news.agu.org/press-release/colorado-river-basin-has-lost-water-equal-to-lake-mead-due-to-climate-change/ [https://perma.cc/K7E4-RGE7].
[xi] Id.
[xii] Hadjimichael, supra note 1.
[xiii] The Paris Agreement, United Nations Climate Change (last visited October 13, 2025) https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement [https://perma.cc/BCX7-XD8H].
[xiv] The Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Dec. 12, 2015, T.I.A.S. No. 16-1104.
[xv] Supra note 11.
[xvi] Nate Perez & Rachel Waldholz, Trump is withdrawing from the Paris Agreement (again), reversing U.S. climate policy, NPR (January 21, 2025) https://www.npr.org/2025/01/21/nx-s1-5266207/trump-paris-agreement-biden-climate-change#:~:text=Trump%20is%20withdrawing% 20from%20the,loud%20cheers%20from%20the%20audience [https://perma.cc/A68X-FNPX].
[xvii] U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement: Process and Potential Effects (2025), https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48504 [https://perma.cc/7BA4-2QKS].
[xviii] Michael R. Pompeo, On the U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, U.S. Dep’t. of State (November 4, 2019) https://2017-2021.state.gov/on-the-u-s-withdrawal-from-the-paris-agreement/ [https://perma.cc/97BQ-ZAAP].
[xix] Perez & Waldholz, supra note 16.
[xx] Supra note 17.
[xxi] U.S. EPA, Global Emissions and Removals by Gas (last updated August 19, 2025) https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-overview#:~:text=In%202020%2C% 20the%20top%20ten,from%20deforestation%20in%20other%20regions [https://perma.cc/23NJ-2VHZ].
[xxii] Sheila Hu, Paris Climate Agreement: Everything You Need to Know, NDRC (January 23, 2025) https://www.nrdc.org/stories/paris-climate-agreement-everything-you-need-know [https://perma.cc/6ZKM-JQBD].
[xxiii] Matti Goldberg & Dave McGlinchey, Five things to know about the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, Woodwell Climate Rsch. Ctr. (January 30, 2025) https://www.woodwell climate.org/us-withdrawal-paris-agreement/ [https://perma.cc/2K4D-F3EE].
[xxiv] Id.
[xxv] Id.
[xxvi] Id.
[xxvii] Id.
[xxviii] Goldberg & McGlinchey, supra note 23.
[xxix] Supra note 21.
[xxx] Goldberg & McGlinchey, supra note 23.
[xxxi] Colorado River Basin, Bureau of Reclamation (last visited October 13, 2025) https://www.usbr.gov/ColoradoRiverBasin/ [https://perma.cc/9CAF-F3VG].
[xxxii] Id.
[xxxiii] Id.
[xxxiv] Sarah Ruiz, Colorado River water crisis a symptom of greater climate crisis, Woodwell Climate Rsch. Ctr. (February 2, 2023) https://www.woodwellclimate.org/colorado-river-water-shortage-climate-crisis/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20879148636&gbraid=0AAA AADuVfo96FwLayW JMQqv-OSuBfnGl&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3OjGBhDYARIsADd-uX6l 1U3NrecGoQHyqw 3hD2Bh2l3nhX9 x44R45bKxbcrNXf-Ci3BwzIkaAm6uEALw_wcB [https://perma.cc/3X8J-PWXP].
[xxxv] U.S. EPA, Climate Change Indicators: Greenhouse Gases (last updated August 1, 2025) https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/greenhouse-gases [https://perma.cc/55FW-AYMA].
[xxxvi] Id.
[xxxvii] Hu, supra note 22.
[xxxviii] Hu, supra note 22.
[xxxix] Hu, supra note 22.
[xl] Hu, supra note 22.