Komor Invites Amazon and Colorado River Partners to Explore Interstate Carbon Removal Program

“We cannot conserve our way out of unchecked warming”: Colorado governor candidate calls for water investment that pairs immediate protection with long-term climate repair

September 22, 2026Media contact: info@k4gov.com

COLORADO: Christian R. Komor, an independent candidate for Colorado governor, is inviting Amazon, Amazon Web Services, and participants in the Colorado River Basin Collaborative to a technical briefing on his proposed Interstate Direct Atmospheric Carbon Removal Program.

The invitation asks companies investing in the basin’s water security to evaluate a complementary infrastructure partnership connecting hyperscale computing, clean power, and permanent atmospheric carbon removal.

The invitation follows Amazon’s September 21 announcement of a $20 million water-conservation commitment. The new collaborative has secured more than $32 million in voluntary commitments toward a $100 million, two-year goal, with Amazon’s first named projects supporting leak detection and repairs in California and irrigation efficiency on tribal farmland in Arizona. (Amazon announcement)

“Amazon is putting real resources behind an essential problem, and I welcome that,” Komor said. “But protecting the water we have is only half the task. We must also confront the warming that threatens the water supply itself. We cannot conserve our way out of unchecked warming.”

USGS research links declining Colorado River flows to warming-driven snow loss and increased evapotranspiration, demonstrating that the challenge extends beyond how efficiently water is used. (USGS research) Komor argues that water conservation and adaptation must therefore be accompanied by emissions reductions and permanent carbon removal, with healthier watersheds and more resilient river flows as long-term objectives.

Komor’s proposed program would organize an interstate effort to develop campuses that pair hyperscale data centers with direct atmospheric carbon removal, dedicated clean power, and permanent geological storage. Its design would evaluate opportunities to use data-center waste heat in the removal process while establishing explicit water and energy requirements for each site. The proposed removal program excludes enhanced oil recovery.

“Repair the pipes. Improve irrigation. Protect every gallon we can,” Komor said. “But do not mistake managing scarcity for solving its causes. Our ambition must be more than dividing up a diminishing supply. We need to help restore the conditions that sustain our rivers. That is why I am inviting Amazon and its partners to evaluate the Interstate Direct Atmospheric Carbon Removal Program.”

The proposal treats carbon removal as a complement to deep emissions reductions, not a replacement for them or for immediate water conservation. The IPCC identifies sustained global net-negative CO₂ emissions as a means of reducing CO₂-induced warming over time; a regional project would contribute to that broader effort, rather than independently determine a river basin’s future flows. (IPCC assessment)

The proposed briefing would bring corporate participants together with water managers, tribal representatives, carbon-removal researchers, energy specialists, and labor and community representatives. Komor is asking participants to:

·Evaluate a Colorado demonstration site: Compare candidate locations, power supplies, cooling systems, storage options, and full operational water requirements before selecting a project.

·Commission an independent feasibility assessment: Test net carbon removal, lifecycle emissions, costs, water impacts, and permanent-storage monitoring, with findings available for public review.

·Explore separately funded development: Identify potential support for feasibility work and, if justified by the results, a pilot with defined milestones and community-benefit commitments.

The invitation does not ask Amazon to withdraw funding from announced conservation projects. It proposes an additional evaluation and investment track; no corporate participation, funding, or project approval has been secured.

“Colorado should be helping design the next generation of infrastructure, not simply reacting to it,” Komor said. “We can invite investment and insist on measurable public benefits. That is the partnership I am proposing.”

The invitation concerns technical and project-development discussions, not campaign contributions, endorsements, or preferential permitting. Interested organizations and reporters may contact info@k4gov.com to request a briefing with Komor.