Schwarzenegger: Climate change ‘the most important issue’

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) said Monday that climate change is a threat to humanity “right now.”

“Global warming is an extremely important issue — the most important issue,” the action film icon said at the COP21 climate conference in Paris, according to The Guardian.

{mosads}“You have to communicate it properly,” Schwarzenegger continued. “You have to communicate to people that this is right now. Stuff that happens in the future does not mean anything to people.

“Seven million people die a year because of pollution. There are people in cancer wards right now, tubes sticking out of them. We should be talking about that.”

Schwarzenegger’s remarks come as representatives from 195 nations gather in Paris to try to reach an agreement on climate change. He called on world leaders to show greater urgency when dealing with the issue.

“It drives me crazy when people talk about 30 years from now, rising sea levels and so on,” the “Terminator” star said. “What about right now?”

“My job is to get the message out there,” Schwarzenegger said. “If you don’t have people behind you, you can’t do anything.

“The Paris conference is the biggest leap forward in dealing with climate change yet,” he added. “France has been instrumental in advancing this agenda.

“It is good that this is now being recognized. It’s about [emphasizing] efficiency and alternatives to [fossil fuels].”

Schwarzenegger said that bipartisan cooperation is necessary to make progress, pointing to the attendance of his successor, Gov. Jerry Brown (D-Calif.).

“I never paid much attention to [political] parties,” Schwarzenegger said. “This is a people’s issue, not a party issue.”

COP21 negotiators announced last weekend that they had reached a tentative deal for reducing global carbon emissions.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is working on the pact’s details for a final version due later this week.

The forum’s participants have not yet agreed on a definitive target for reduced carbon emissions by 2050, according to CNN.