UK Energy secretary Ed Miliband and California’s governor Gavin Newsom have signed a new agreement that has developed from the existing co-operation on climate, clean energy and the environment. The agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding, is intended to strengthen the partnership to boost transatlantic investment, support jobs and industry, and strengthen relationships between research institutions in the UK and California.
The MoU signed on 16 February is hoped to deepen decades of co-operation and creates a refreshed framework to drive innovation, scale up clean energy technologies and connect businesses and researchers across both economies by connecting the UK’s fast-growing clean energy sector with the Californian market, thereby opening up new export opportunities, and delivers a commitment to speed up the rollout of technologies that cut bills for families, reduce exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets and protect the natural environment.
This builds on other MoUs signed by the UK focused on economic cooperation with 11 other US states, including Washington and Florida.
The partnership will also see the two governments share practical expertise on protecting biodiversity and building resilience for communities in the face of extreme weather. This will help protect homes, public services and local economies from the climate crisis.
The two clean energy economies are growing rapidly, with the UK’s net zero economy growing three times faster than the overall UK economy in 2024 according to the CBI (Confederation of British Industry). Meanwhile, California saw similarly rapid clean economic growth, with three times more clean energy jobs being created than jobs created elsewhere in the state’s economy. The UK and California share equally ambitious energy and climate targets and have a history of collaboration on policy in this space.
