California and China Are Continuing Strong Partnership on Climate Change

“Broad participation, joint action” was splashed across the electronic screen at the China Pavilion at the recent Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco.

The words capture the collaboration between California, China and others leading efforts to combat climate change.

“We have much to do. It won’t happen overnight. So it is imperative that we take action now,” said California Energy Commission Chair Robert B. Weisenmiller.

At the China Pavilion, experts from California and subnational entities throughout China discussed successful climate policies and areas where collaboration could produce greater climate progress.

“With our partnership, we can lead energy reform and address the global challenges of climate change,” said Xu Huaqing, director general of the Chinese National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation.

To help guide energy efficiency plans in China, California’s building standards were translated to Mandarin, Weisenmiller said.

California and China have a long history of cooperation with more than 15 memoranda of understandings (MOU) between the regions.

In 2017, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. and Weisenmiller signed a network of MOUs to establish the California-China Clean Technology Partnership. The parties have focused on the exchange of policies related to new energy vehicles, building energy efficiency, renewable energy, grid integration, and carbon markets.

As climate change is a global issue, California and China are looking to each other, and to other national and subnational actors, to extend their regional successes around the world.

The China Pavilion was among the week’s events at the September 12 to 14 summit that Energy Commission commissioners participated in. Events affiliated with the summit included the California-Germany Bilateral Conference on September 11 and Practitioner Workshops on September 11 and September 12.