Schwarzenegger Presses for Faster Permitting

TRANSCRIPT

>> ALL RIGHT. NOW TO A NEW PUSH FOR SOLUTIONS THIS MORNING ON THE ONGOING BATTLE TO REVERSE THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. SOME OF THE WORLD’S TOP CLIMATE ACTIVISTS AND LEADERS ARE MEETING IN VIENNA RIGHT NOW FOR THE AUSTRIAN WORLD SUMMIT. IT’S AN ANNUAL CONFERENCE AIMED AT PROMOTING NEW IDEAS TO COMBAT THE CLIMATE CRISIS. IT’S PART OF A SCHWARZENEGGER CLIMATE INITIATIVE, CREATED BY FORMER CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER. HE JUST WRAPPED UP HIS KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THIS YEAR’S CONFERENCE A SHORT TIME AGO, AND HE JOINS US NOW. MR. SCHWARZENEGGER, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING ON THE SHOW THIS MORNING. WE’D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT YOU ARE HOPING TO ACCOMPANY IN THIS CONFERENCE. ALSO, IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE IN ITS RELATION TO THE WAR IN UKRAINE AND WHAT PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW. >> FIRST OF ALL, LET ME SAY THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HAVING ME. WE ARE JUST IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS CONFERENCE RIGHT NOW. IT STARTED THIS MORNING. LIKE YOU SAID, I GAVE THE KEYNOTE SPEECH HERE. IT IS ALWAYS WONDERFUL TO BRING EVERYONE IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT HERE TOGETHER, FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, AND TALK ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO TO MOVE THE CHAINS FORWARD AND GET OFF FOSSIL FUELS. THE THEME TODAY, MY THEME OF THE SPEECH WAS WE HAVE TO SPEED UP THE PROCESS OF GETTING THINGS BUILT. I’M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT ANY INFRASTRUCTURE, HIGHWAYS, FREEWAYS, TUNNELS, BRIDGES, ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. I’M TALKING ABOUT GREEN PROJECTS, INFRASTRUCTURE THAT HAS TO DO WITH ENERGY. THERE IS THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING HELD UP IN AMERICA, HELD UP IN EUROPE. YOU KNOW, BUREAUCRACY, LAWSUITS, PAPERS, STUDIES, ALL THIS KIND OF STUFF, ALL THE CRAP THAT HOLDS THINGS UP FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS. IT TAKES FOUR, FIVE YEARS TO GET A GREEN PROJECT BUILT, SOLAR, SOMETHING CAN TAKE UP TO TEN YEARS IN EUROPE, YOU KNOW, WINDMILLS BUILT. THE ONLY WAY WE CAN REALLY REPLACE FOSSIL FUELS, WHICH IS A KILLER, WHICH KILLS 7 MILLION PEOPLE A YEAR, IS WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY. OR NUCLEAR ENERGY, ONE OR THE OTHER. THE BOTTOM LINE IS, WE HAVE TO GO AND SPEED UP THE BUILDING PROCESS BECAUSE IN AMERICA, WE HAVE 2,000 GIGABYTES OF CLEAN ENERGY WAITING TO BE BUILT, EXCEPT IT NEEDS THE PERMITS. JUST TO SHOW YOU HOW MANY ENERGY THIS IS, WE USE DAILY AROUND 1,200 GIGAWATTS IN AMERICA. YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT 2,000 GIGAWATTS READY TO BE BUILT, THAT WE NEED TO PERMIT. EUROPE HAS THE SAME PROBLEM. AMERICA HAS THAT PROBLEM. THE NEW ENVIRONMENTALISM SHOULD BE ABOUT, LET’S BUILD AND BE ABOUT MOVING FORWARD SO WE CAN REPLACE FOSSIL FUELS. >> GOVERNOR, GREAT TO HAVE YOU ON THE SHOW THIS MORNING. SINCE YOU ARE THERE WITH THE LEADERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD ON CLIMATE CHANGE, THE FUTURE OF ENERGY, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE EXCITING IDEAS THAT YOU’RE HEARING AT THE CONFERENCE AS YOU SIT THERE TODAY? THERE’S SO MUCH GOING ON IN THE WORLD. IT’S CLEAR WHERE EVERYTHING IS HEADED. THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY SOME LOBBIES AND INTEREST GROUPS THAT ARE TRYING TO SLOW DOWN THAT PROGRESS FOR THEIR OWN REASONS. BUT WHAT ARE YOU HEARING THERE THAT GIVES YOU HOPE, GIVES YOU PROMISE THAT WE’RE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? >> IT GIVES ME HOPE WE WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PROCESS, WITH THE PERMITTING PROCESS. PRESIDENT BIDEN RIGHT NOW IS TALKING TO THE REPUBLICAN CONGRESS ABOUT THAT AND NEGOTIATING ABOUT THAT TO SPEED UP THE PROCESS. THERE’S REALLY GOOD THINGS HAPPENING AT THE EU. IN EUROPE, THEY’VE ALREADY MOVED FORWARD AND CHANGED AND REFORMED THE PROCESS, SO THEY’RE SPEEDING UP THE PROCESS. I THINK PEOPLE ARE HEARING THIS AS AN EMERGENCY, LOUD AND CLEAR. WE ARE IN AN EMERGENCY. AN EMERGENCY MEANS YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET EVERYTHING PERFECT, BUT YOU CAN GO AND MOVE FORWARD. THAT’S WHAT I’M STRESSING TO DO. WE HAVE CALLED FOR NEW ENVIRONMENTALISM. WE UNDERSTAND THE OLD ENVIRONMENTALISTS KIND OF WAS AFRAID OF BUILDING BECAUSE IT MEANT MORE POLLUTION AND MORE DEATH, STUFF LIKE THAT. THIS IS THE NEW ENVIRONMENTALISM. WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY NOW. WE KNOW THAT, FOR INSTANCE, SOLAR AND WIND IS MUCH CHEAPER NOW THAN COAL. LET’S GO AND REPLACE COAL WITH THOSE ELEMENTS, WITH THIS ENERGY. THAT’S WHAT I’M TRYING TO DO. WHEN IT COMS TO TECHNOLOGY IN GENERAL, JOE, I THINK IT IS REALLY EXCITING WHEN YOU SEE THAT IN 2005, WHEN WE HAD THE CAR SHOW IN LOS ANGELES WHEN I WAS GOVERNOR, WE HAD ONE ELECTRIC CAR. NOW, WE HAVE THE LATEST CAR SHOW, WE HAD OVER 50 ELECTRIC CARS. NOW, EVERY COMPANY, EVERY CAR COMPANY IN THE WORLD IS BUILDING ELECTRIC CARS AND HYDROGEN CARS, SO THE TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING REALLY FAST. THERE’S GREAT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING WHEN IT COMES TO TECHNOLOGY. IF WE FAIL, IT’S NOT GOING TO BE A FAILURE OF TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION. IT’LL BE A FAILURE OF OUR INACTION. >> MR. SCHWARZENEGGER, THERE SEEMS TO BE CLIMATE CONFERENCES EVERY WEEK AT THE MOMENT. THERE’S THE U.N. ONE, THE COP ONE. THAT IS YOUR GATHERING IN VIENNA ADDING TO THE EQUATION? WHAT DO YOU BRING TO THE TABLE THAT PERHAPS OTHERS AREN’T ABLE TO DO?  IT IS A POLITICAL NEEDLE, NOT A TECHNOLOGICAL NEEDLE, AS YOU POINTED OUT. WHAT CAN YOU DO THAT OTHERS CAN’T?  >> IT’S A COMMUNICATION NEEDLE. IT’S NOT A POLITICAL NEEDLE. IT’S A COMMUNICATION NEEDLE. AS LONG AS WE TALK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE, WHICH MOST OF THE CONFERENCES DO. BY THE WAY, I HAVE TO SAY, IT’S GREAT TO HAVE ALL THESE CONFERENCES ALL OVER THE WORLD. NO DIFFERENCE THAN WHEN WE PROMOTED THE FITNESS MOVEMENT IN THE ’70s. THE MORE WE TALKED ABOUT FITNESS, WEIGHT TRAINING, CROSS TRAINING, MORE PEOPLE GOT INVOLVED. NOW, EXACTLY WHAT I PREDICTED THEN, THERE WOULD BE EVENTUALLY MORE, YOU KNOW, GROCERY STORES AND SUPERMARKETS — I MEAN, MORE GYMNASIUMS THAN SUPERMARKETS, THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAS HAPPENED. IT’S ALL BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE PROMOTED IT AND TALKED ABOUT IT FOR YEARS. THE SAME IS WITH THIS. WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT. WE HAVE TO HAVE AS MANY CONFERENCES, WRITE AS MUCH ABOUT IT, DO SPEECHES AND ON AND ON AND ON. BUT THE DIFFERENCE WITH OUR EPRESENT IS VERY SIMPLE. WE TALK ABOUT THINGS THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO TALK ABOUT. WE TALK ABOUT THE THINGS, THE MISTAKES BEING MADE WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT. FOR INSTANCE, COMMUNICATION. PEOPLE TALK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE. IT DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING TO ANYBODY. YOU HAVE TO TALK ABOUT WHAT CAUSES CLIMATE CHANGE. IT’S POLLUTION. LET’S TALK ABOUT POLLUTION. EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS POLLUTION. EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THE HEALTH THREATS. WHEN I WAS GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA, WE TALKED ABOUT POLLUTION AND HOW MANY KIDS HAVE ASTHMA IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY IN CALIFORNIA. THAT REALLY CONNECTED TO THE PEOPLE. CLIMATE CHANGE DIDN’T CONNECT TO THE PEOPLE. THE THREAT OF THE KIDS GETTING SICK, THEM DYING BECAUSE OF POLLUTION, THAT’S WHAT CONNECTED. THAT’S HOW WE WERE ABLE TO MOVE AND PASS SO MANY GREAT ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS IN CALIFORNIA. WE WANT TO LET PEOPLE KNOW, TRY TO COMMUNICATE DIFFERENT. INCLUDE POLLUTION AND FOSSIL FUELS, HOW IT KILLS PEOPLE, RATHER THAN JUST TALKING ABOUT CLIMATE, CLIMATE, CLIMATE. EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT CLIMATE, BUT NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THE HELL IT IS. ANY PRODUCT YOU HAVE, TO BE TO COMMUNICATE TO THE PEOPLE, PROMOTE IT AND MARKET IT THE RIGHT WAY. >> GOVERNOR, THIS IS DAVID IGNATIUS IN WASHINGTON. YOU’RE THERE IN AUSTRIA. LITERALLY ALMOST NEXT DOOR, A FRIGHTFUL WAR IS GOING ON IN UKRAINE. THIS LAST NIGHT, THERE WAS TERRIBLE BOMBING IN THE CITY. JUST WONDERING WHAT YOU AS A EUROPEAN AT THE START OF YOUR LIFE FEEL AS YOU ARE WATCHING THIS GOING ON, WHAT THOUGHTS YOU’D SEND TO THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE, AND WHAT THOUGHTS YOU’D SEND TO RUSSIA? >> WELL, MAYOR KLITSCHKO FROM KYIV, HE WAS ON OUR SHOW TODAY. HE WAS PART OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE. IT’S REALLY SAD TO HEAR HIS STORY. YOU TURN ON THE NEWS, AND YOU LISTEN TO THE SAD STORIES. HOW, YOU KNOW, A COUNTRY THAT WAS ATTACKED UNPROVOKED AND, YOU KNOW, HAS THIS UNBELIEVABLE EFFECT, AND HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE. NOT ONLY UKRAINIAN PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE, BUT RUSSIAN PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE. THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING. IT’S SAD. I HOPE THAT SOMEONE AMONGST THE LEADERSHIP IN THE WORLD COMES UP WITH A SOLUTION TO HAVE THEM BOTH SIT DOWN AND START NEGOTIATING, TALK, AND COME TO A PEACE AGREEMENT. >> ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, THANK