Newsom announces global climate partnerships with Brazil and Kenya at New York summit

Governor Gavin Newsom attended Climate Week in New York, where he announced new international partnerships aimed at addressing climate change. During the event, Newsom launched collaborations with Brazil and Kenya to enhance efforts on clean energy, pollution reduction, and economic opportunities tied to climate action.

“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,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.

The partnership with Brazil aims to increase cooperation on climate issues ahead of the UN’s Global Climate Change Conference (COP30), which Brazil will host in November. This agreement builds on an earlier arrangement between California and 21 Brazilian states. The partnership with Kenya focuses on reducing pollution and increasing trade between California and Kenya. Newsom led a bilateral meeting with Kenyan President William Ruto as part of this initiative.

Newsom also met with several foreign leaders during his trip. These included Australia’s Ambassador to the U.S., Kevin Rudd, Energy Minister Chris Bowen, UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband, and European Union Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra.

While participating in Climate Week events, Newsom criticized former President Trump’s address at the United Nations. “What an abomination, what an embarrassment, what a fraud,” said Newsom regarding Trump’s remarks. He also expressed concerns about the future of democracy in the United States: “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 marked progress toward cleaner transportation during Climate Week. According to Newsom, zero-emission vehicles accounted for nearly 23% of new medium- and heavy-duty truck sales in California in 2024—more than double the state’s target and a record high for ZEV truck sales. Additionally, there are now over 201,000 public and shared electric vehicle charging ports across California—a figure that surpasses the number of gasoline nozzles statewide by 68%.

Newsom also announced that more than 11.5 million households will receive automatic refunds on their October electric bills through the California Climate Credit program. Recent legislation signed by Newsom is expected to increase these refunds starting next year, potentially directing up to $60 billion toward electric bill credits through 2045.

Since 2000, greenhouse gas emissions in California have decreased by 20%, while the state’s GDP has grown by 78%. In 2023—the most recent year with available data—two-thirds of California's electricity came from clean energy sources. The state has operated on entirely clean electricity for some portion of almost every day this year.

Battery storage capacity has increased significantly since Newsom took office; it now exceeds 15,000 megawatts—a rise of more than 1,900%. Over 25,000 megawatts of new resources have been added to California's electric grid during his administration.