California and Kenya join in a historic partnership to curb emissions and boost trade

NEW YORK – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced a new partnership between California and Kenya to advance efforts to cut pollution and support trade.

The Governor led California’s delegation in a bilateral meeting with the delegation from Kenya, led by Kenyan President William Ruto. California and Kenya signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at Climate Week in New York yesterday. Text of the MOU is available here.

Today’s announcement builds on the partnership announced Tuesday between California and Brazil on climate.

“California and Kenya are both on the front lines of the climate crisis – we know the hots are getting hotter and the dries are getting drier. We’re working together to cut pollution, build cleaner transportation and boost trade between our two economies. While the federal government abdicates its international role, California will always be a stable and reliable partner.”

Last month, a delegation from California traveled to Africa and met with Kenyan President Ruto, among other leaders, where they focused on climate action, sustainable development and job creation.

What the partnership does

• Promotes the protection of the natural and built environment and reduce air pollution and carbon emissions
• Advances medium- and long-term low-carbon development and national climate plans
• Promotes policy research, development and innovation for sustainable transportation and clean energy goals
• Promotes trade
• Advances policy research, development, and innovation in sustainable land use and urban planning that reduces long commutes and urban sprawl, while promoting integrated land use and transportation systems
• Promotes opportunities for private collaborations, as well as public-private partnerships

How we got here

The Newsom Administration has partnered with jurisdictions in 28 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 MOU to boost their green economies and enhance digital and cyber resilience.

• In February, Governor Newsom signed an MOU with 21 Brazilian state governors through 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 Province to collaborate on climate and economic efforts. Also last year, Governor Newsom welcomed delegations from Sweden and Norway and 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 declaration by 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 Zealand and Japan, as well as Memorandums of Understanding with China and the Netherlands, to tackle the climate crisis. The Governor also joined with Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia to 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 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.