(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-14 08:53

LOS ANGELES - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and visiting Mexican President Felipe Calderon pledged on Wednesday to join hands in fighting climate change.

During Calderon's visit to California, officials from both sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to team up in the fight against climate change, to protect the environment and conserve precious natural resources.

"It is an agreement between Mexico and California to work cooperatively on ways to enhance policies for environmental protection and sustainable natural resources," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

The agreement calls for a joint action plan to be developed in the future and implemented by the signing agencies.  

Both sides agreed that Schwarzenegger will chair the 26th Annual Border Governors' Conference in Los Angeles in August. The conference will be attended by governors from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas on the US side and governors from Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Sonora and Tamaulipas on the Mexican side, the statement said.

The meeting will address many issues impacting states on both sides of the US/Mexico border, including agriculture, security, economic development, education, energy, environment, health and tourism, said the statement.

"I am encouraged that President Calderon is on the same page with California on many issues, such as increasing trade, creating more jobs, improving our aging infrastructures and improving the quality of life for our people," Schwarzenegger said.

Mexico accounts for approximately 19.6 billion dollars in export trade annually from California. Since 2002, California's agricultural exports to Mexico have nearly doubled in value, making it one of the state's fastest growing export markets. California's agricultural exports to Mexico represent an estimated 5 percent of the total US agricultural exports to this market.