Lisa Leutner/AP
- Leaders who say mitigating climate change will hurt the economy are "liars," Schwarzenegger said.
- His comments come in the lead-up to the COP26 climate summit.
- He says he is driving an electric car and has reduced his meat consumption "about 70, 80%."
Arnold Schwarzenegger said world leaders who warn that fighting climate change will be damaging to the economy are "liars" and "stupid."
"All of these countries that come and give speeches: 'we are not going to go and lose jobs because of going green,' they're liars or they're just stupid and they don't know, and it's all about having the balls to do it," he told the BBC.
Schwarzenegger did not name any particular countries.
The Terminator actor and Republican politician said the environmental policies he enacted while in office as California governor between 2003 to 2011 proved that "when you go green" it is "the best job creator."
Speaking about California, he said: "We are number one economically in the US, with a GDP of $3.3 trillion, and that at the same time makes us the fifth economy in the world…while we have the strictest environmental laws," he said.
His comments were published in the lead-up to the COP26 global climate summit which is convening next week in Scotland.
Schwarzenegger, who previously said that environmentalism can be "sexy", and "hip," rejected the idea that mitigating climate change means asking people to "give up" things.
"If I went from a 300 horsepower hummer that was diesel-fueled, and now I go and build an electric engine in there now it's 480 horsepower, and now it's electric. What did I give up?" he said.
The former bodybuilder also said he had reduced his meat intake by "about 70-80%," and had seen health benefits from the switch.
"So how have I given up something? I gained my health, it gave me an extra two years," he said.