Speech of Arnold Schwarzenegger (EN)

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the 38th governor of California and one of the most successful actors and bodybuilders in the world, made a unique and rather unexpected appearance at the One Planet Summit in Paris as a special guest on the twelfth of December 2017 and gave an inspirational speech in front of hundreds of youngsters, in which he cited several points concerning the battle for a green future, powered by clean energy. Schwarzenegger had begun with expressing his enchantment of being with students. One of the first points he mentioned was the idea that we should think about the next generations and the Earth they will inherit from us. Afterwards, he proceeded to talk about our determination in reducing pollution and going in the 'green direction', employing as examples his personal successes in sports, cinema and politics. He spoke about his struggle of success in bodybuilding in an inspirational and motivational tone; how 'nay-sayers' around him kept discouraging him and trying to deflect him from the 'harmful sport' of bodybuilding, yet he did not take "no" for an answer and satisfied his passion for bodybuilding, until he proved the benefits of that sport and became the most influential figure in it. Another similar example he used is how he became an actor and then the governor of California, arguably the most important and the richest American state. The second, and most important aspect of Schwarzenegger's speech and one of the probable reasons of his presence, was comforting people that the United States did not actually leave the Paris Agreement. He mockingly claimed that Donald Trump did not pull the USA out of the agreement; Donald trump "pulled Donald Trump" out of it, as - according to him - the states that form the USA, their citizens, rulers and corporations did not follow Trump. He explained from his experience as a governor how powerful the regional government of a state is and that it does not need any national government's approval to protect the environment. Another idea that Arnold Schwarzenegger has discussed is the importance of the smallest of measures and steps taken to preserve the environment. He mentioned that many people, especially environmentalists, are worried about the insufficiency of what is being currently done for the environment, then he refuted the argument by using examples - again - from sport, saying that in sports every small increase, like lifting half a kilogramme more, can break a world record and announce a new champion, so it is the same concept in the protection of the environment.