NEW YORK — Governor Gavin Newsom spent this week in New York showing the world that California is a stable, reliable partner – a stark contrast to President Trump’s unhinged rant to the United Nations (said the Governor: “what an abomination, what an embarrassment, what a fraud”).

The Governor was in New York for Climate Week, an annual convening of local, state and international leaders that occurs on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Here are the highlights of his trip.

Partnering across the world

While in New York, Governor Newsom launched two new international partnerships, continuing the state’s commitment to the global response to climate change.

“If there is anything I want to communicate, for those of you particularly outside this country: we are your stable and reliable partner, and we will continue to be in this space.”

The Governor announced a 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 UN’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.

Governor Newsom also announced a new partnership between California and Kenya focusing on efforts to cut pollution and boost trade between the two economies. The Governor led California’s delegation in a bilateral meeting with the delegation from Kenya, led by Kenyan President William Ruto.

In addition to the new partnerships, the Governor met with several foreign leaders to discuss climate action, building clean energy and working collaboratively to foster a sustainable future.

On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Governor Newsom met with:

• An Australian delegation led by Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd and Energy Minister Chris Bowen
• A United Kingdom delegation led by Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband
• A European Union Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra

Defending democracy

Governor Newsom also spent his time at Climate Week speaking out against the Trump administration’s dangerous embrace of authoritarian tactics, which has been weaponized against California and its climate efforts.

“I fear that we will not have an election in 2028 – I really mean that in the core of my soul – unless we wake up to the code red, what’s happening in this country, and we wake up soberly to how serious this moment is.”

California hits major milestones on clean trucks and EV chargers

During Climate Week, California marked major milestones on the state’s path to cleaner transportation. Governor Newsom announced that zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) made up nearly 23% of new medium- and heavy-duty truck sales in California in 2024 — more than double the state’s target and the highest total of ZEV sales ever reported for trucks.

Governor Newsom also announced that there are now 201,180 fully public and shared electric vehicle (EV) charging ports available for use throughout the state. This is 68% more EV charger ports than the number of gasoline nozzles statewide.

Climate program sends millions electric bill refunds next month

Also this week, the Governor announced that more than 11.5 million California households will automatically see refunds on their October electric bill through the California Climate Credit. Thanks to historic legislation the Governor signed last week, those refunds are anticipated to increase starting next year with up to $60 billion going to the electric Climate Credit through 2045.

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 all while becoming the world’s fourth largest economy.

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 up to over 15,000 megawatts – a 1,900%+ increase, and over 25,000 megawatts of new resources have been added to the electric grid.