California–U.K. Clean Energy Deal Sparks Fresh Clash Between Newsom and Trump

By Irina Slav - Feb 17, 2026

• Governor Newsom signed a clean energy memorandum with the U.K., drawing sharp criticism from President Trump.
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• The deal promotes U.K. investment in California’s clean tech sector, including expansion by Octopus Energy.
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• The agreement highlights broader transatlantic climate cooperation and deep domestic divisions over fossil fuels versus renewables.

California’s governor this week inked an energy partnership deal with the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) - and it made the U.S. president quite angry. Trump dubbed Gavin Newsom’s actions inappropriate in the latest flare-up between the federal government and green-focused California, as the two diverge ever more on energy policies.

“The U.K.’s got enough trouble without getting involved with Gavin Newscum,” President Trump told Politico, asked about his comments on the deal between Newsom and the UK’s Ed Miliband. “Gavin is a loser. Everything he’s touched turns to garbage. His state has gone to hell, and his environmental work is a disaster.”

“The worst thing that the UK can do is get involved in Gavin. If they did to the UK what he did to California, this will not be a very successful venture,” the U.S. president also said.

California’s government has prioritized energy transition policies for years, turning the state into the one with the most stringent emission controls—and the one with the most expensive gasoline. Climate advocates see California’s progress in the transition as a marked success, while critics note the exorbitant fuel prices and the growing homelessness problem that has been put on the backburner to focus on emission reduction.

The deal is one of about a dozen that the UK government has signed with individual U.S. states, so in that sense, the deal is not exactly unusual. The deal focuses on cooperation in the area of clean energy, per another Politico report, including opening up the California market to UK companies, notably Octopus Energy. Octopus Energy is the biggest energy supplier in the UK and a vocal proponent of a transition to wind and solar for electricity generation.

“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,” Newsom said. Miliband praised the deal—a memorandum of understanding for now—as a way to enable “opportunities for U.K. businesses and secure investment for our country.”

Meanwhile, the insult trade between Trump and Newsom continued, as Reuters cited a spokesperson for the California governor as saying, “Donald Trump is on his knees for coal and Big Oil, selling out America’s future to China. Governor Newsom will continue to lead in his absence. Foreign leaders are rejecting Trump and choosing California’s vision for the future.”

It is interesting to note that it was Ed Miliband from the UK who recently sealed a deal with China on what was described as clean energy cooperation across areas including grid investment, power market reforms, offshore wind power generation, carbon capture, and green hydrogen production. The deal prompted criticism from the UK’s opposition due to the fact that Miliband has refused to reveal any details about it, sparking fears of growing Chinese influence over the UK’s energy policies and its energy transition, featuring a lot of wind and solar components manufactured in China.

California’s governor is touring Europe, apparently in a bid to reassure leaders of European nations that the current U.S. policies are a temporary thing and once Trump’s term ends, the U.S. will be back to climate change as a top priority and will adjust its federal policies accordingly. Newsom is one of the Democrats’ presidential hopefuls. Meanwhile, however, until his term ends, President Trump appears determined to keep criticizing European nations for trying to give up hydrocarbons in favor of wind and solar, with the criticism especially pointed towards the UK and the decision by several successive governments to essentially suffocate its oil and gas industry in favor of imported alternatives.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com