California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday announced an agreement in which their governments will work together on climate issues such as transportation electrification and climate-smart agriculture.

The aim of the agreement is “to accelerate our efforts, to learn from each other,” Newsom said. “We need each other.”

Ardern said it was “common sense” to collaborate with likeminded partners to meet common goals.

“We both aim to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century,” Ardern said. “This agreement means we’ll work together to share expertise and experience and collaborate on projects that help meet each other’s targets.”

Newsom and Ardern made the announcement during an event in the New Zealand garden at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

The agreement is contained in a memorandum of cooperation between the two governments.

The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions for California, and the second largest GHG source for New Zealand, the document noted. And both jurisdictions are interested in reducing GHG emissions from the agricultural sector.

The agreement creates a “flexible framework” for the two parties to cooperate on issues of environmental protection, natural resources and climate change.

Some of the activities specified in the agreement are sharing best practices and possible solutions in zero-emission transportation market development and exchanging ideas on stimulating innovation in the renewable energy and clean tech sectors.

The California Environmental Protection Agency and the New Zealand Ministry of the Environment will coordinate implementation of the agreement, which is effective for five years but may be extended.

The agreement announced Friday isn’t the first collaboration between California and New Zealand.

During the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Glasgow, Scotland, in November, the governments of California, Quebec and New Zealand agreed to work together on carbon markets and other climate action. (See Calif., Quebec, NZ Pledge Cooperation on Climate, Carbon Markets.)

On Friday, Newsom said partnerships such as the one with New Zealand took on added importance during the Trump years when “you couldn’t rely on the federal government.”

“It became even more important that we sign memorandums like we’re signing here today with likeminded jurisdictions around the world,” the governor said.