SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The state of California and the country of Australia are joining forces to develop solutions to combat climate change. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Australia’s Ambassador to the U.S. met Tuesday to sign a memorandum of understanding for the two governments to collaborate on clean energy, green finance, green transport and research and development.

What You Need To Know

  • The state of California and the country of Australia signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on climate solutions

  • The sub-national agreement between the two governments is designed to accelerate developments in clean energy, green finance, green transport and research and development

  • About 400 Australian corporations already do business in California

  • The memo signing comes three months before California is set to host the APEC Leaders Meeting in San Francisco

“At the end of the day, we want to dominate this space,” Gov. Newsom said from the state capitol. “It’s about the great implementation now. It’s not about ambition any longer. I don’t think we can establish another goal. We’ve just got to deliver and move with the speed that is required of this moment.”

California has, in many ways, led U.S. efforts to combat climate change, establishing pioneering mandates to reduce transportation emissions from passenger vehicles and heavy-duty trucks. Adopted by multiple states, California’s decision to end the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035 set the stage for the Biden Administration to establish a similar phase out.

Australia has also been a leader in establishing specific targets to reduce its carbon footprint. As Prime Minister, Rudd enacted legislation that set a renewable energy target of 20% by 2020. About 30% of Australia's total electricity supply is now renewable.

“We were attacked at the time for being grossly intrusive in the operations of the free market in the energy sector,” Rudd said. “Guess what? They were right. We were intrusive. But you know something? Statutes work.”

Rudd said Australia’s memorandum of understanding with California is “not just a bunch of pearly words. It’s about a program of action between us in order to take what we currently do, accelerate it and turbocharge it into a whole new level of mutual engagement in making a difference for the future.”

Several Australian companies are already at work on climate solutions in California, including the zinc bromide battery maker Redflow, the geothermal lithium brine company Control Thermal Resources and the electric vehicle fast-charging firm Tritium.

While California currently has six times more green energy jobs than fossil fuel jobs, "We are mindful at this moment that we have a lot of work to do and that we don’t have all the answers,” Newsom said. “We recognize that if you want to go fast, you can go alone, but if you want to go far, you’ve got to go together, so it’s in that spirit that we’re doubling down.”

The MOU signing comes just three months before San Francisco plays host to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Meeting. The largest diplomatic gathering in California since 1945, when the United Nations Treaty was signed, the APEC Leaders Meeting will bring together leaders from 21 member economies that account for almost 50% of global trade, including President Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.