The state of California announced a new joint initiative with the Chinese province of Hainan to help fight climate change.
State officials met with their Chinese counterparts to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Thursday; the MOU outlines five areas of cooperation between California and Hainan.
- Reducing air pollution
- Developing and implementing climate adaptation and carbon neutrality plans
- Advancing clean energy
- Accelerating zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs)
- Creating nature-based solutions
Governor Gavin Newsom has also recently joined the governors of Washington, Oregon and the Canadian province of British Columbia to “recommit the region to climate action,” according to a release from the governor’s office.
“We are an ocean apart, but we share the same goals – leaving this planet better off for our kids and grandkids,” Governor Newsom said about the MOU with Hainan on Thursday. “Working together with global partners like the province of Hainan, we stand a chance to address the existential crisis of climate change by cutting pollution and transitioning to clean energy.”
California’s alliance with the province of Hainan is not the first agreement that the state has made with another country; in 2022 alone, the Golden State signed Memorandums of Cooperation with Canada, New Zealand and Japan, as well as MOUs with the Netherlands and the nation of China to tackle the climate crisis.
“We are glad to partner with California as we both take meaningful steps to fight the global climate crisis,” said Chen Huaiyu, the Vice Governor of the province of Hainan. “We share the desire to raise the bar for climate solutions like cleaning out air, advancing zero-emission vehicles and embracing clean energy.”
A roundtable discussion was held by the California and Hainan delegations following the signing of the MOU, which talked about shared climate priorities and areas of cooperation, the governor’s office said.
Source : KTLA