The exterminator set himself a new target - carbon

One of the surprising speakers at the Paris conference was none other than the exterminator - Arnold Schwarzenegger. During his tenure as governor of California, he worked to make it the greenest state in the US

By Dr. Miri Tzaluk, Angle - Science and Environment News Agency

Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke at the climate conference in Paris about his new enemy: climate change, and presented innovative economic tools to finance support in dealing with it.

In 2006, while serving as governor of California, Schwarzenegger promoted the California Global Warming Solutions Act, known as 32AB. The law, which went into effect in 2012, requires California to lower its carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2020. The law is considered unique and inspiring because it advanced the fight against climate change long before the federal government in the United States began talking about participating in the effort to deal with it. Indeed, the state of California leads the entire USA in its energy efficiency and environmental policy. The measures that California has begun to use to reach its ambitious goal in just five years include meeting the goal of producing 33 percent of electricity from renewable energy sources, switching to water- and fuel-efficient agriculture, promoting the use of more fuel-efficient and efficient cars, and reducing landfilling to lower methane emissions.

According to the AB32 regulations in California, every company in the state is limited in the greenhouse gases it is allowed to emit and must buy "credits" for any carbon emissions beyond that. This credit is used to reduce pollution elsewhere (Cap and Trade). So far, such "pollution rights" have been bought for hundreds of millions of dollars, which are used to reduce greenhouse gases. Jerry Brown, the current governor of California, continues to lead the ambitious law and even works in cooperation with Israel to promote it.

During his tenure as governor, Schwarzenegger also promoted carbon dioxide emissions trading between California and other US states and with the European Union, and won various environmental awards for it.

In 2011, after leaving the Governor's House in California, Schwarzenegger founded 20R - an organization that helps local governments develop a sustainable, low-carbon economy that prevents climate change. The organization's goal is to address three ills that prevent clean energy from thriving: at the government level, the organization claims, the leaders are short-sighted and blind to far-reaching political, economic and technical solutions for a clean economy. Second, project developers have difficulty expressing the importance of their work to investors. And finally, investors do not understand how investing in a low-carbon solution fits into their investment portfolios.

The 20R organization works with 560 heads of local government around the world and promotes cooperation between developed and developing countries, private and public investments and technology transfer to promote renewable energy, electricity savings and clean transportation. So, for example, the company invests in Indonesia in a project to produce biodiesel from walnut trees.

20R economists claim that the ambitious goal of reducing 75 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years can be achieved at no cost, because any investment for this goal pays for itself and even gives an economic advantage to those who invest in it.

in his speech in Paris Schwarzenegger said that "there are cynics walking around the conference saying that there will be no agreement, that it is impossible. I have heard the words 'impossible' all my life and eliminated them from my vocabulary. You should also do this." said the cinematic exterminator. Schwarzenegger added that he encourages all governments, local government authorities and private companies in the world to work together and ensure a clean energy future.