Take Action. Like the Terminator…

Arnold Schwarzenegger is in the vicinity. You feel it; you know it.

Although the discussions continue at the front, there is an unusual movement in the audience. There’s something going on by the doors. There are a lot more armed U.N. police.

The roundtable ends a little hurriedly. The room is distracted. Even Philippe Couillard, seated in the first row, seems restless. Almost.

Then Schwarzenegger enters the room, hands in his pockets, smiling wide. Half of the room gets up to take a photo. He has a bronzed complexion, several days’ beard, and a voice that carries. He delivers his speech at a brisk pace, like an actor … kind of a bad one, actually.

But that’s fine, because he hits the nail on the head.

The remarks of the former governor, invited as a founder of the R20 climate organization, pleases because he is well known, of course, but also because he is putting his finger on an underrated, yet essential aspect of the fight against climate imbalance: This fight is led, from this point forward, by the “small.” This includes the American states, the Canadian provinces, urban regions and municipalities, but not the governments.

“It is our time, ladies and gentlemen, it is our moment to pick up the torch of a clean energy future in the cities and the states and in the provinces and march forward relentlessly like a Terminator.”

The speech is appreciated by Mr. Couillard and the prime ministers of Ontario and Manitoba, who are seated by his side. This is because the former governor is confirming that they are now the actors at the forefront of climate conferences.

The proof: The latest version of the plan of accord that is circulating here in Le Bourget recognizes for the first time “the importance of the participation at all levels of governments” to reduce the effects of greenhouse gases.

It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s a revolution in the small world of climate change. It’s not only the signatories of international treaties who have their say; it’s also the “subnational governments” (an expression that Quebec hates because it certainly doesn’t consider itself “subnational”).

“It’s the COP or the actions of the federated states, regions, and local governments that are the most obvious, concrete, and known,” notes Annie Chaloux, director of the observatory for public policies at the University of Sherbrooke. “Which is the least of things, given that they are the ones who have the leadership in Canada, in the United States, and — more and more — in Mexico.”

It’s precisely all these top people that Schwarzenegger wanted to bring together by founding the Regions of Climate Action a few years ago. It’s an organization that advocates for local action, like in California and Quebec.

“We are the laboratories, the experimentation platforms, true models for the whole world,” the “Governator” said. He illustrated his remarks by indicating that if the United States adopted the same rules and norms as California, 75 percent of coal power plants would have to be shut down.

The same thing applies to Quebec, according to Annie Chaloux. “In 2012, Quebec passed its goals of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, by reducing them to 8 percent rather than 6 percent of the level from 1990. And the success of the Quebec-California carbon market sent an extremely powerful signal that ensured that Ontario joined, then Manitoba. So we see that action comes from the provinces.”

We can add to that the carbon tax in British Columbia, the closing of coal centers in Ontario, and Alberta’s brand new environmental plan (which, notwithstanding, saw the growth of emissions by 53 percent since 1990!)

So many things explain the decentralized approach that the Trudeau government wants to put in place in the next few months. The provinces are charting a course of action and the federal government is going along with them.

This is precisely what Schwarzenegger wants to see. “More than 70 percent of the emissions come from subnational states. Even if the governments don’t do anything, we would have the power to create a clean and healthy energy future. Every movement comes from the bottom up!” he said by way of conclusion.

Then the star left, but not without taking a selfie…