California and Brazil ink new climate partnership to cut pollution, protect public health, strengthen economy

What you need to know: As the Trump administration reverses course on addressing the existential issue of our time, climate change, California and Brazil will collaborate on transformative policies to safeguard natural resources and build a cleaner, healthier future.

NEW YORK - Governor Gavin Newsom today announced an expanded partnership between California and Brazil to scale up cooperation on climate, clean energy, cutting pollution, and job-creating climate opportunities. The new partnership comes ahead of the United Nation's Global Climate Change Conference (COP30) that Brazil will host in November. It also builds on a climate partnership California entered into with 21 Brazilian states earlier this year.

The Governor met with a delegation from Brazil led by Brazilian Minister of the Environment Marina Silva. California and Brazil signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during Climate Week. Text of the MOU is available here.

By strengthening our partnership with Brazil, California is reaffirming a simple truth: global challenges require global cooperation. This couldn't be more true as we look forward to the UN's Global Climate Conference that Brazil is hosting later this year. We can work together to cut harmful pollution, protect critical ecosystems, and build economies that work for people and our planet.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Through the Governors' Climate and Forests (GCF) Task Force and the Subnational Methane Action Coalition (SMAC), California and Brazilian states have worked together to protect forests, reduce greenhouse gas and air pollution, and enhance livelihoods across the world's forests.

"Partnerships with subnational governments, such as the memorandum of understanding signed today with the state of California, are essential to ensure that climate action continues to move forward in the United States, for the benefit of its own population and all of humanity," said Brazil's Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Marina Silva. "This commitment will support Brazil and California to achieve their climate neutrality goals by 2050 and 2045, respectively."

We can expect exchanges on:

• Development and implementation of market-based carbon pricing programs, including the use of high-quality carbon offsets.
• Advancing clean transportation through the adoption of low-carbon fuels, expansion of zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure, enhanced public transit systems, and more to reduce greenhouse gas and pollution emissions.
• Conservation of 30% of lands and oceans by 2030, bettering the lives of communities by providing pathways of engagement for climate education and knowledge.
• Strengthening air quality management through enhanced monitoring and modeling, regulatory controls on air pollutant emissions, and a cost-benefit analysis of air pollution control measures.
• Nature-based solutions, biodiversity protection, carbon markets, and the development and deployment of clean technologies that are critical to advancing climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.

Together, these efforts reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, protecting public health and strengthening the economy.

How we got here

The Newsom Administration has partnered with jurisdictions in 27 countries, touching more than a quarter of the world's population and a combined GDP in the tens of trillions of dollars.

• Last month, California and Denmark signed an MOUto boost their green economies and enhance digital and cyber resilience.
• In February, Governor Newsom signed an MOU with 21 Brazilian state governorsthrough Consórcio Brasil Verde (CBV). The partnership has been successful in collaboration across multiple pillars of climate and environmental policy.
• Last year, Governor Newsom welcomed a new international partnership with South Korea's Gyeonggi Provinceto collaborate on climate and economic efforts. Also last year, Governor Newsom welcomed delegations from Swedenand Norwayand signed renewed climate partnerships with the two governments.
• In 2023, Governor Newsom led a California delegation to China, where California signed five MOUs- with China's National Development and Reform Commission, the provinces of Guangdong and Jiangsu, and the municipalities of Beijing, and Shanghai. The trip also resulted in a first-of-its-kind declarationby China and California to cooperate on climate action like aggressively cutting greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning away from fossil fuels, and developing clean energy.
• Also in 2023, California signed a MOU with the Chinese province of Hainan, as well as with Australia.
• In 2022, California signed Memorandums of Cooperation with Canada, New Zealandand Japan, as well as Memorandums of Understanding with Chinaand the Netherlands, to tackle the climate crisis. The Governor also joined with Washington, Oregon, and British Columbiato recommit the region to climate action.

California's climate leadership

Pollution is down and the economy is up. Greenhouse gas emissions in California are down 20% since 2000- even as the state's GDP increased 78% in that same time period.

The state also continues to set clean energy records. California was powered by two-thirds clean energy in 2023, the latest year for which data is available - the largest economy in the world to achieve this level of clean energy. The state has run on 100% clean electricity for some part of the day almost every day this year.

Since the beginning of the Newsom Administration, battery storage is upto over 15,000 megawatts - a 1,900%+ increase, and over 25,000 megawatts of new resourceshave been added to the electric grid.