Governor Gavin Newsom announced at Climate Week NYC that California will link its carbon market with Washington State while signing new international partnerships.
At the North America Climate Summit, Newsom said expanding California's pioneering Cap-and-Invest program to include linkages with other jurisdictions strengthens the program while expanding opportunities for industries to reduce emissions more cost-effectively. California's thirteen-year-old program has generated $37 billion in climate investments, supported 143,000 good-paying jobs, and cut millions of tons of carbon emissions. This summer, the program distributed $886 million in utility bill relief through the California Climate Credit. The average household received $75 in credits on electricity bills, and the program is expected to generate $10 billion in additional electric bill credits by 2030.
At Climate Week, Newsom met with Australian Ambassador to the United States Greg Moriarty and officials from Australia's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to discuss expanding cooperation on energy security, battery storage, zero-emission transportation, and emerging technologies. California and Australia have partnered under a 2023 Memorandum of Understanding on grid innovation, energy storage, water-quality monitoring, and critical-minerals research.
Newsom also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen to strengthen California-Finland economic cooperation on clean technology, sustainability, aerospace and defense innovation, health and life sciences, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and sustainable forest bioeconomy. Valtonen said the partnership "deepens cooperation between Finland and California, creates new economic opportunities, and strengthens collaboration and dialogue on innovation and emerging technologies across the Atlantic."