U.S. California governor pledges to enhance cooperation with Canada on climate action

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- California Governor Jerry Brown said Friday that his state expects to expand cooperation with Canada on climate action, trade and criminal justice reform, the governor's office said in a statement.

In a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in San Francisco, Brown underscored the importance of international cooperation in addressing issues related to climate change.

"We've got a lot to do with Canada while our Washington government is temporarily missing in action," he said.

"In terms of climate action, California and more than a dozen other (U.S.) states are taking real action. I'm looking forward to forging agreements with various provinces in Canada and particularly in zero-emission vehicles - electric cars, hydrogen cars," Brown said.

The California governor hoped that Canada, California and the rest of America can really commit to developing the technologies that will "allow us to have zero-emission vehicles be a big part of our future."

In response, Trudeau expressed his readiness to work with California to enhance the "great connections between California and Canada."

"Climate change has been an issue that the Governor has been a leader on and I want to congratulate him on that and thank him as well for the cap-and-trade system Ontario is part of and others and the fact that we have so much work to do together as friends and as a planet," he said.

The two men discussed the importance of getting more zero-emission vehicles on the road, increasing cooperation between U.S. states and Canadian provinces ahead of this year's UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) and Canada's participation in the Global Climate Action Summit, which will be held in San Francisco this September.

They also exchanged views on the ongoing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

They agreed to explore opportunities for criminal justice reform experts from California and Canada to collaborate.

Last year, Brown welcomed Canada to the Under2 Coalition, a global pact of more than 200 cities, states and countries -- representing 1.3 billion people and 40 percent of the world's gross domestic product.

The Under2 Coalition is committed to limiting the increase in global average temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius, the level of potentially catastrophic consequences. Enditem