FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2025

Media Contact:
Nefretiri Cooley, California Environmental Protection Agency
+ 1 (916) 634-8428, nefretiri.cooley@calepa.ca.gov

California’s Secretary of Environmental Protection Joins Fellow Leaders in Paris and London, Stressing the Need for Urgent Climate Action

What you need to know:  CalEPA Secretary Yana Garcia is joining national and global leaders at London Climate Action Week, following an event today marking the 10-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement.

SACRAMENTO – As the Trump administration attempts to roll back California’s environmental policies and backtracks on the nation’s commitments to protect health and economies from the impacts of climate change, California Environmental Protection Secretary Yana Garcia is joining other prominent U.S. and global leaders for the 10-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement and London Climate Action Week to highlight the state’s continued commitment to urgent climate action.

“Extreme heat, drought, storms and wildfires are devastating communities across the globe, and the long-term effects of climate change are impacting our health, our safety and our wellbeing. This is not a time to back away from climate action and from keeping people and our economies safe from environmental harm.” said Secretary Garcia. “As the fourth largest economy in the world, California has proven that climate action, innovation and economic strength can — and must — go hand in hand. We need bold and visionary leadership to meet one of the most pressing challenges of our time.”

Marking the 10-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement, Secretary Garcia is underscoring the importance of subnational governments in addressing the climate crisis and reaffirm the need for urgent action as she joins global partners and the City of Paris at today’s Mayors’ Summit.

Following Paris, Secretary Garcia will participate in London Climate Action Week June 23–29, where she will share California’s experiences and expertise in tackling climate change and implementing lasting solutions that benefit health and the economy. Her participation in the week’s events will include strategy sessions, roundtable discussions and bilateral meetings to reinforce California’s climate leadership and to emphasize the importance of international partnership and collaboration to address the impacts of climate change on people and economies.

The secretary will share four key messages during her participation at London Climate Action Week:

• Regardless of who is in Washington, California’s commitment to addressing the climate crisis has never wavered.
• California remains a steady partner for countries and subnational governments around the world who want to advance ambitious climate action.
• As global emissions continue to reach record highs and people around the world increasingly suffer the consequences, California will not only protect our progress— we also will continue our path to address this crisis at the speed and scale it requires. 
• California’s economy has grown, not despite our ambitious climate agenda, but because of it. 

London Climate Action Week coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the Under2 Coalition. Co-founded by California in 2015 to mobilize and galvanize bold climate action from like-minded city, state and regional governments around the globe in the lead up to COP21, it is now the largest network of subnational governments committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, or earlier.

At London Climate Action Week, representing California, Secretary Garcia will join America Is All In, an expansive coalition of state, local, tribal, private sector, and nonprofit leaders supporting climate efforts at the subnational level. Now co-chaired by Governor Newsom, the coalition is working to cut U.S. emissions in half by 2030, reach net zero emissions by 2050, and build resilience in the face of increasing climate impacts.

Governor Newsom also serves as co-chair of the U.S. Climate Alliance, which California co-founded in 2017, in response to President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. The alliance is a bipartisan coalition of 24 governors working to achieve a net zero carbon pollution future in America by advancing state-led, high-impact climate action. Its collective membership represents approximately 55% of the U.S. population and 60% of the U.S. economy.

California — including CalEPA — has a decades-long history of executing and implementing international cooperative agreements to reduce emissions and increase climate ambition among national and subnational governments. Recent examples include:

• Last week, California and Denmark reaffirmed their global climate leadership by renewing a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Danish Energy Agency and the California Energy Commission, California Public Utilities Commission, and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
• In May 2025, CARB and the Republic of Panama entered into a partnership on carbon pricing programs and climate investments.
• In March 2025, California signed a new partnership with Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo Montaño advancing cross-border action for cleaner air and clean energy.
• In February 2025, California and a consortium of 21 Brazilian states partnered together to combat pollution and foster sustainable economic growth.  

The mission of CalEPA is to restore, protect and enhance the environment to ensure public health, environmental quality and economic vitality. We fulfill our mission by developing, implementing and enforcing environmental laws that regulate air, water and soil quality, pesticide use and waste recycling and reduction. Our departments are at the forefront of environmental science, using the most recent research to shape the state’s environmental laws