Gavin Newsom and Ed Miliband signed a new partnership to speed up the roll out of renewable infrastructure in the latest sign that US national policy does not reflect the intention of many states.
The Memorandum of Understanding aims to ‘drive innovation, scale up clean energy technologies and connect businesses and researchers across both economies.’ This will involve developing new export opportunities between Britain and the US state, including companies such as Octopus expanding on the country’s West Coast.
The UK already has similar memorandums with 11 American states, including Washington and Florida. As with those, the new California agreement also features aspects that will help safeguard biodiversity and create more resilient communities for both nature and people.
The move comes at a time when Britain’s ‘net zero economy’ is growing three times faster than the overall UK economy. California is also witnessing a similarly rapid transition, with triple the number of jobs created in clean energy compared with other industries across the state.
‘This government’s clean energy mission is about taking back control of our energy to cut bills, create jobs, and tackle the climate crisis,’ said U Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband. ‘Strong international partnerships like today’s announcement with the State of California strengthens opportunities for UK businesses and secures investment for our country.
‘California is the best place in America to invest in a clean economy because we set clear goals and we deliver,’ added Gavin Newsom, California’s Governor. ‘Today, we deepened our partnership with the United Kingdom on climate action and welcomed nearly a billion dollars in clean tech investment from Octopus Energy. California will continue showing the world how we can turn innovation and ambition into climate action.’
Image: Andrew Spencer / Unsplash
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