“A dreamer who has set up a youth movement to hold those in power responsible for their promises to reduce climate change.” Actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at a climate conference in Vienna, organized by his NGO R20 – Regions of Climate Action, the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was also invited to give a speech.
“The Terminator” had a meeting with Thunberg yesterday. “I want to admit that I was ‘startruck’ when I met Greta Thunberg,” he said on Twitter. He called the 16-year-old climate girl a “dreamer in the true sense of the word.”
According to Schwarzenegger, these dreamers are “the designated people who can finally make progress in the fight against the approaching climate crisis.” The climate conference in the Austrian capital is organized by R20, an organization founded by the 71-year-old former Hollywood actor.
In her speech, Thunberg called on world leaders to inform the public about climate change. “Most people are not informed by the right people. People listen to and are influenced by politicians, celebrities, CEOs and journalists, which means they have a huge responsibility. And let’s be honest, this is a responsibility that most of you have left behind,” she also said to an audience of 1,200 policy makers and researchers in the famous Hofburg Palace.
“We are part of nature, we are social animals, we are naturally attracted to our leaders,” said Thunberg, calling for a change in the way society deals with the problem. “The climate crisis as such should be treated and not discussed as a way to generate green jobs and economic growth,” Thunberg said.
