"California is widely known for its progressive environmental policy and has taken a leading role in the US. It is therefore very inspiring to visit this state", said Mr. Solheim when he arrived San Francisco January 30 after two days of meetings in Washington DC. Mr. Solheim and his delegation started their visit in Sacramento discussing environmental policy and climate change with Secretary Linda Adams at the California Environment Protection Agency. The Minister continued with meetings at the California Resources Agency and the California Energy Commission.
Minister Solheim had a clear message to his colleagues in Sacramento: "We need the US to take a leading role in order to reach an ambitious international agreement. Wiith its eminent human resources, cooperation with the US is essential to develop new technologies. A lot of these resources can be found here in California."
He also met with Republican leader in the State Senate Dick Ackerman and test drove a hydrogen fueled vehicle at the California Fuel Cell Partnership.
The next day Mr. Solheim addressed students and staff at UC Berkeley as a speaker and panelist at the conference "Focus the Nation". He also visited Amyris Biotechnologies , a company engaged in advanced research on the next generation of biofuels and biodiesel. In Silicon Valley he learned about advanced solar energy generation at the company SolFocus and met with the Green Energy team at Google.
You may find more information about Minister Solheim and Norwegian Environmental Policy on the menu to the right.