On visit to Beijing, California governor reaffirms commitment to Paris accord

California, whose economy is the largest among US states, on Tuesday signed an agreement with China to work together on reducing emissions, as hundreds of US businesses, cities and several states launched a "We Are Still In" campaign to support the Paris Agreement.

Taking California's climate push to the world stage, Governor Jerry Brown and Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang signed a memorandum for cooperation on the advancement of low-carbon, renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies such as zero-emission vehicles, according to a release posted on Brown's Twitter account on Tuesday.

"Under the agreement, California and China will also deepen their partnership and coordination on greenhouse gas emission and air pollution reduction programs, including emissions trading systems and carbon capture," it said.

Brown, who has been on a China tour since Saturday to expand climate partnership with local and national leaders, said he had proposed California cut its greenhouse gases 40 percent below 1990 levels and have 50 percent of its electricity from renewables.

"To keep that goal, we need a very close partnership with China - with your businesses, with your provinces, with your universities," Brown said during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping after the signing of the agreement, according to the governor's Twitter page.

California is not the only state that has jumped on board the growing movement of taking action to honor the Paris Agreement following US President Donald Trump's June 1 announcement pulling the US from the landmark 2015 pact aimed at curbing global warming.

At least 1,000 US businesses, cities and universities and states have joined the "We Are Still In" campaign to declare that they would continue to support climate action.

"In the absence of leadership from Washington, states, cities, colleges and universities and businesses representing a sizeable percentage of the US economy will pursue ambitious climate goals, working together to take forceful action and to ensure that the US remains a global leader in reducing emissions," the campaign organizers said in a statement on Monday.

"I think we'll see more states coming into this as we move forward," David Hart, professor of international affairs at George Mason University, said of the "We Are Still In" campaign at a panel discussion at the Brookings Institution on Tuesday afternoon.

Amar Bhattacharya, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said China and India are investing much more rapidly in renewables than the US is, noting fossil fuel-based energy is not just harmful, it kills people.

"I'm personally optimistic about the clean energy movement worldwide because it's a business-to-business partnership," he said.

Back in Beijing on Monday, David Rank, the charge d' affaires of the US Embassy in China, reportedly resigned over the Trump administration's decision to quit the Paris Agreement.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that the personnel changes in the US Embassy in China are the business of the US.

Yuan Yuan contributed to this story.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com