Australia, California Strike Climate Change and Renewables Partnership

Wind turbines operate at a wind farm near Whitewater, California, on Feb. 22, 2023. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Australia will cooperate with the U.S. state of California to tackle climate change and facilitate the adoption of renewable energy.

The Australian government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with California, which provides a framework for cooperation on climate action and ecosystem protection.

The memorandum specifies many areas where the two governments could work together to achieve their climate change targets, including clean transportation, nature-based solutions, climate adaptation initiatives, and the development of clean energy supply chains and technologies.

It also covers “green” finance, investment and climate-friendly business, as well as relevant research and development.

In addition, the federal government said the agreement would help Australia and California address climate risks such as heatwaves, storm surges, wildfires, drought,s and flooding.

Australia has set a target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, while California has an even more ambitious goal of reaching 100 percent “carbon neutrality” by 2045.

In an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio, Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said the memorandum would further enhance the cooperation between the two governments.

“What it will do is take cooperation between California, which is the world’s fifth largest economy and a leader in renewable energy, and Australia to a new place that arises out of a meeting I had with [Californian] Governor Newsom last year,” he said.

“California and Australia actually share a lot in common. Now they have about half of the energy generation being renewables. Their solar is about 27 percent. Their EV (electric vehicle) policy is very advanced. So there’s a lot we can work on together.”

The minister also noted that the memorandum was one of many agreements the Australian government was forging worldwide.

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said Australia was committed to working with international partners to deal with the climate crisis, which she said was the most significant threat in the Indo-Pacific.

“Our new partnership with the state of California will accelerate our shared efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, including by promoting climate-related disaster resilience and supporting the development of clean energy technologies,” Ms. Wong said.

No Access to United States’ $500 Billion Funding

While Mr. Bowen praised the importance of the agreement, he admitted that it would not give Australian businesses access to funding from the United States’ $500 billion Inflation Reduction Act.

However, the minister said Australia was able to secure preferential treatment under the U.S. Defense Production Act, which was a big deal for renewable energy.

Chris Bowen, Labor Party's minister for energy and climate change, speaks to media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on June 16, 2022. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

“You might think defence production and renewables aren’t that related. Actually, they are increasingly around the world,” he said.

“Both governments see this as a national security, opportunity and challenge as well as an environmental and economic imperative.”

Despite not disclosing how much money the Australian will invest in the partnership with California, Mr. Bowen said his department had a budget for international engagement.

Meanwhile, Opposition climate change spokesman Ted O'Brien was optimistic about the memorandum, saying any further collaboration with the United States would benefit the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

“What’s important for us in Australia is to keep an open mind to all technologies so we can decarbonise our economy without de-industrialising it,” he said.

California’s Extends Use of Gas-Powered Plants to Avoid Energy Crises

While California is putting a lot of effort into its transition to renewable energy, the state still has to rely on traditional power plants to ensure the stability of its power grid.

On Aug. 9, the California Energy Commission approved a plan to extend the use of the state’s last three gas-powered power plants for another three years to avoid running out of electricity during summer months.

The commission admitted that California was not ready to completely cut off the use of fossil fuels.

“We need to move faster in incorporating renewable energy. We need to move faster at incorporating battery storage. We need to build out chargers faster,” Commissioner Patricia Monahan said.

“We’re working with all the energy institutions to do that, but we are not there yet.”

While the commisson predicted that California would unlikely to run out of electricity this summer due to an increase in power storage and use of hydroelectric power plants, it believed it was necessary to retain the three gas-powered power plants in case of emergency.

Apart from Australia, California signed a climate change partnership with China, the world’s largest source of carbon emissions, on Aug. 3.

Despite having approved a lot of new coal-fired power plants in the last couple of years, China still expressed willingness to cooperate with other countries on reducing carbon emissions.

Jill McLaughlin contributed to this article.