Portugal became the latest country to join California Gov. Jerry Brown’s global push to address climate change on Thursday when Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa met with Brown to sign a climate agreement during a visit to Sacramento.
Portugal is the latest country to join Brown’s Under2 Coalition, a group of international governments committed to fighting climate change.
Brown’s spokesman Gareth Lacy said that Portugal and California have similar opportunities to produce carbon-free electricity.
"The prime minister discussed some of the offshore power generation that's clean and renewable that they're exploring, and so we had a very interesting and productive conversation about that technology," Lacy said.
In addition to the climate agreement, the Portuguese delegation was also visiting California to develop business connections.
It’s natural that Portugal and California would team up, according to Lacy — and not just because California has the largest Portuguese population in the United States, with the highest concentrations in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Modesto.
"We have similar Mediterranean climates, so we draw a lot of power from the sun, wind, geothermal, so we have shared interests, shared commitments, so that's why it's a meaningful signature and a meaningful document," Lacy said.
The Prime Minister says Portugal is committed to fighting global warming, and that challenge can lead to new jobs, goods, and services.
Brown’s international alliance to reduce carbon emissions now includes more than 40 countries from six continents, representing 1.3 billion people.
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