The United Kingdom and California have strengthened their cooperation on clean energy and climate action with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aiming to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy and boost transatlantic investment. The agreement was signed in London by UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and California Governor Gavin Newsom, building on decades of collaboration between the two regions on energy, climate, and environmental policy.
The MoU establishes a refreshed framework to drive innovation, scale up clean energy technologies, and connect businesses and researchers across both economies. According to a joint statement from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the partnership will also open export opportunities, support skilled jobs in the UK, and strengthen British businesses’ presence in California, with companies like Octopus Energy already expanding on the West Coast.
“This government’s clean energy mission is about taking back control of our energy to cut bills, create jobs, and tackle the climate crisis,” said Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. “Strong international partnerships like today’s announcement with the State of California strengthen opportunities for UK businesses and secure investment for our country.”
Governor Gavin Newsom emphasized California’s leadership in the clean economy: “California is the best place in America to invest in a clean economy because we set clear goals and we deliver. Today, we deepened our partnership with the United Kingdom on climate action and welcomed nearly a billion dollars in clean tech investment from Octopus Energy.”
The agreement focuses on several key areas:
Accelerating investment in clean energy technologies, creating jobs, and lowering energy bills for families.
Sharing expertise on climate resilience and biodiversity protection to help communities prepare for extreme weather and protect public services and local economies.
Connecting UK and California clean energy sectors, providing opportunities for companies and researchers to collaborate on innovation, export, and market growth.
The MoU builds on previous UK agreements with 11 other US states, including Washington and Florida, aimed at fostering economic cooperation in the clean energy sector. The UK’s net zero economy has been growing three times faster than the overall UK economy in 2024, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), while California has similarly experienced rapid clean energy job creation.
Nick Chaset, CEO of Octopus Energy US, highlighted the practical benefits of the agreement: “As a British tech business and investor growing in the US, this MoU opens up opportunities to bring our smart technology to California, cutting energy bills and improving the customer experience. We are already delivering that through our work with Southern California Edison, where the Octopus Shift app enables EVs and home batteries to support the grid.”
The partnership also encourages further deployment of technologies like Octopus Electroverse, the world’s largest public EV charging platform, with 1.3 million chargers across 50 countries, demonstrating how UK-California collaboration can scale customer-focused innovation.
The MoU underscores the shared ambition of the UK and California to drive the global clean energy transition, strengthen investment, and support employment and industrial growth on both sides of the Atlantic.