California inks another international climate agreement — with Norway

By Blanca Begert | 04/17/2024 06:31 AM EDT

Tuesday’s agreement with Norway outlines cooperation on green transportation, energy, agriculture and recycling.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom shakes hands with Jan Christian Vestre, Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom (left) shakes hands with Jan Christian Vestre, Norwegian minister of trade and industry, after an announcement on a new climate partnership between California and Norway in Larkspur, California, on Tuesday. Jeff Chiu/AP

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a pact Tuesday with Norway’s leaders to work on climate change policies, education, economic development and prison reform.

Newsom’s (D) statement with Norway’s Minister of Trade Jan Christian Vestre commits the two countries to working on a broad swath of policies. A separate agreement focuses on climate specifically.

California Energy Commissioner David Hochschild and Vestre’s climate-specific agreement covers green transportation and infrastructure, ports, clean energy like offshore wind, carbon capture and storage, circular economy, and recycling and climate smart agriculture.

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“California tech has already made our domestic footprint lighter back home in Norway,” said Vestre at the signing at San Francisco’s Larkspur Ferry Terminal. He noted that a number of Norwegian companies are doing the same in California, like the partly state-owned oil giant Equinor, which is developing a wind project off California’s central coast. “I believe that Norway will find no better partner in the universe for the journey we have ahead,” he said.

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