Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced last week that California will team up with the Chinese province of Hainan to fight climate change, in the state’s latest international partnership focused on the climate crisis.

The memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday identifies five areas of cooperation:

• • Advancing clean energy;
  • Speeding the deployment of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs);
  • Reducing air pollution;
  • Developing and implementing climate adaptation and carbon neutrality plans; and
  • Exploring nature-based carbon solutions.

California and Hainan agencies will work together on an action plan for meeting the objectives. Specific activities might include organizing meetings on carbon neutrality planning or best practices for decarbonizing transportation, energy and industry.

The four-year agreement may be extended if the parties agree, or canceled at any time.

“We’re an ocean apart but share the same goals — leaving this planet better off for our kids and grandkids,” Newsom said in a statement.

Vice Governor Chen Huaiyu said Hainan is pleased to partner with California.

“We share the desire to raise the bar for climate solutions like cleaning our air, advancing zero-emission vehicles and embracing clean energy,” he said in a statement.

The memorandum points to some of California and Hainan’s shared climate goals. Hainan, which is China’s southernmost province, plans to ban the sale of fossil fuel vehicles by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060. California has committed to 100% light-duty ZEV sales by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2045.

Last year, California signed agreements with Canada, New Zealand, Japan and the Netherlands to address climate issues. The state is also partnering with Washington, Oregon and British Columbia on regional climate action. (See Calif., Canada Seek to Increase Cooperation on Climate Issues; Calif., New Zealand Forge Climate Pact; and West Coast Leaders Pledge Closer Cooperation on Climate Measures.)

In addition, Newsom renewed a climate cooperation agreement with China last year. The governor said at the time that the agreement “deepens California’s strong climate and clean energy ties with China.”

An announcement on the agreement noted that China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The U.S. is the second-largest GHG emitter, with roughly half the annual emissions of China in 2020.

Newsom’s action last year renewed a climate agreement with China signed by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) in 2018.

Brown is now chair of the California-China Climate Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. The institute partners with the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development at Tsinghua University in China.

In March, the institute released an 11-paper series aimed at accelerating U.S.-China climate action. Topics of the papers include decarbonizing the power sector, advancing the ZEV market, electrifying buildings, accelerating zero-emission shipping and reducing food waste.

The institute is named as one of the primary points of contact for communication and information exchange under the agreement signed last week with Hainan.