Faced with similar threats from climate change, such as drought, extreme heat and wildfire, California and Australia have made a pact to battle the climate crisis together.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who now serves as Australia’s ambassador to the U.S., gathered with other officials on Tuesday to announce the five-year agreement.
Under a memorandum of understanding signed Tuesday, the officials pledged to work together in areas including zero-emission vehicles, renewable energy development, grid reliability and wildfire resilience.
Like California, Australia has been feeling the impact of wildfires that are becoming more severe as climate change intensifies.
From June 2019 to January 2020, Australian bushfires burned 46 million acres. Emissions from the fires may have contributed to a rare, three-winter string of La Niña weather events, researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research recently reported.
“If you’ve been to Australia much, you may have discovered that from time to time it gets a bit dry down there. It gets a bit dry here from time to time, as well,” Rudd said during a news conference in Sacramento on Tuesday. “The natural dryness of so much of California and of Australia is now being compounded by this ever-expanding climate crisis across the world.”
Newsom said California and Australia both are “on the front lines of the climate crisis.”
“From extreme heat and historic drought to catastrophic wildfires and rising sea levels, the last few years have further crystallized the need for urgent action,” the governor said in a statement.
California has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2045, while Australia has set a 2050 net-zero target.
Rudd commended California for its work on electric vehicles, including a ban on sales of gas-powered cars that starts in 2035.
“It’s not just changing California, it’s changing America and changing the world,” Rudd said. “That’s leadership.”
Australia joins California’s growing list of climate partners, which includes Canada, China, New Zealand, Japan and the Netherlands. Earlier this month, California announced a climate partnership with Hainan Province in China. (See Calif. Enters Climate Agreement with China’s Hainan Province.)
In introductory remarks at Tuesday’s event, California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis (D) said the state’s partnership with Australia is well-timed, coming just a few months before the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit. The theme of the event, which will take place in San Francisco in November, is “creating a resilient and sustainable future for all.”
“Today, California and Australia are elevating our joint commitment to combating climate change,” Kounalakis said. “We are signaling our resolve to work together to advance and lead the way to a more sustainable and technologically advanced future.”
