Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: Green Light or Red Light Ahead?

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: Green Light or Red Light Ahead?

With an election approaching that will decide his successor and the fate of his landmark legislative achievement, California’s climate law known as AB 32, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger delivers a full-throated defense of his legacy. Schwarzenegger’s aim, he says, is to shed a spotlight on “forces willing to sacrifice this country’s environmental future for private gain” by pushing Proposition 23. “Oil companies like Valero and Tesoro and Frontier and Koch Industries are blatantly trying to manipulate the will of the people and the public good,” he says. “They are creating a shell argument that this is about saving jobs. Does anyone really believe that these companies, out of the goodness of their black-oil hearts, are spending millions and millions of dollars to protect jobs?” Asked by Climate One founder Greg Dalton if he welcomes Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman coming down on his side on Prop. 23, Schwarzenegger replies, “Yes, I welcome anyone who comes to our side and helps. I hope she uses some of her billions of dollars that she has and put it into the campaign to fight Prop. 23.” Schwarzenegger repeatedly stresses that California’s future rests on its ability to lead the transition to a clean energy economy, and that doing so would not negatively impact the state’s economy. Since 2005, he says, jobs in the greentech sector have grown ten times faster than the California average and are the single-largest source of new job growth in the state.

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club on September 27, 2010