Austrian-American actor, bodybuilder, and Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger has branded the Green New Deal as ‘bogus’.
The star, who often speaks out about the environment, was asked in an interview what he thought about the initiative – which lays out a ‘grand plan’ for tackling the climate crisis.
According to The Guardian, the Green New Deal doesn’t contain ‘policy details or advocate for specific ways of reducing greenhouse gassess’ – however, it aims to make the US carbon-neutral by 2030.
‘A marketing tool’
“A slogan. Kind of a marketing tool. Something that is very well-intentioned, but, I think, bogus. Because that’s what they always do—they call things different names and different people talk about it,” he told The Atlantic.
“But to me, the only thing that really matters is: How do we move forward with our goals? And this means that we stop increasing the amount of greenhouse gases and pollution that we put out there.
“The idea is to have the whole nation do that, and to have the whole world do that, and you don’t have to call them names. But I understand also that it makes you feel like there’s a new beginning now because we’re calling it a different name.”
Vegan food
Last year, US politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was urged to promote vegan food as a more climate-friendly alternative to animal foods following the launch of her Green New Deal manifesto.
Animal-rights charity PETA contacted Ocasio-Cortez asking her to ‘help counter the environmental devastation of animal agriculture by including vegan food policies in the proposal, such as a program to make the transition from meat, egg, and dairy farming to plant-based agriculture’.
“Because animal agriculture not only is devastating to animals but also poisons the environment and makes Americans sick, what we need is a Vegan Green New Deal,” PETA President, Ingrid Newkirk, said in a statement.
“PETA hopes Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will promote equity, environmental justice, health, and kindness by recognizing the need for vegan food policies.”