Scotland, California embrace green goals

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SACRAMENTO, June 21 (UPI) -- The Scottish government announced it teamed with the state government in California to examine bilateral cooperation on renewable energy programs.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond arrived in California this week for a four-day working visit. Salmond announced he and California Gov. Jerry Brown would set up a joint working entity to examine renewable energy efforts.

Salmond said both sides are committed to a low-carbon economy.

"Therefore it makes sense that we should combine our expertise to push forward innovation," he said.

California state regulators embraced a target of getting 33 percent of their energy from renewable resources by 2020, one of the most aggressive targets in the United States. Scotland aims to derive 100 percent of its electricity demand through renewable energy projects by 2020.

"Reducing carbon emissions is absolutely critical to our well-being in California and Scotland and throughout the entire world," Brown said.