California-China Climate Institute Announcements

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – Just weeks after scientists reported that global greenhouse gas emissions have surged to new highs, the California-China Climate Institute convened top national, city, and state leaders from the U.S.

The California-China Climate Institute this week celebrated five years of informing policymakers, fostering cooperation, and driving climate solutions at all levels in the U.S. and China. Top scholars, government officials, and climate leaders – including the Institute’s chair and vice chair, former California Governor Jerry Brown and former California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols – will mark the occasion later this week during Climate Week NYC, where the Institute was launched back in 2019.

On May 8-9, the United States hosted in Washington, D.C., a meeting of the U.S.-China Working Group on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s, which is co-led by Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy John Podesta and PRC Special Envoy for Climate Change Liu Zhenmin and includes relevant officials from the two countries.

The California-China Climate Institute is celebrating the Newsom Administration’s successful trip to China, which we helped to plan and support.

The California-China Climate Institute published new research authored by more than three dozen experts from across the U.S. and China identifying key opportunities for the world’s biggest emitters to accelerate climate action and deliver on the Joint Glasgow Declaration they agreed to at COP26. “This research provides a firm foundation for leaders in the U.S. and China to get back to work – together,” said former California Governor Jerry Brown, Chair of the California China Climate Institute. “Further climate action and collaboration can’t wait.”

Governor Newsom and China’s Minister of Ecology and Environment sign Memorandum of Understanding on climate change and the environment in virtual meeting. MOU includes new focus on collaboration and strategies to achieve carbon neutrality, promote nature-based solutions, and advance climate-resilient infrastructure. 

In a guest commentary for CalMatters, California-China-Climate Institute Senior Advisor, Louise Bedsworth, outlines how California can use it's Climate Change Scoping Plan to advance a climate roadmap for the world.

BERKELEY – Two years after its launch, the California-China Climate Institute celebrated its anniversary last week by convening two virtual Climate Week NYC events focused U.S. and Chinese subnational climate action and applauding new legislation – AB 39 by Assemblymember Ed Chau – signed by California Governor Gavin Newson, which recognizes, and codifies, the ongoing work of the Institute.

BERKELEY – As the U.S. and China chart a path to achieve their ambitious mid-century carbon neutrality targets, the California-China Climate Institute today released two new reports – one focused on the U.S. and the other on China – identifying institutional, policy and technology gaps and opportunities based on a comprehensive review and analysis of recent deep decarbonization studies in both countries.