Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged people from both ends of the political spectrum to join a "crusade" to save the planet, after a Friday meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"It is absolutely imperative that we not make it a political issue," he said.

"This is not the right versus the left because there is no liberal air or conservative air. We all breathe the same air. There is no liberal water or conservative water, we all drink the same water," the star of "The Terminator" movies said.

Just a few weeks after US President Donald Trump announced he was pulling America out of the Paris Climate accord, Schwarzenegger said all countries had to work together in order to protect the environment.

"It is extremely important in order for us to be successful in creating a green and clean future for our children and grandchildren, which is a responsibility that we have, to hand the world in better shape to the next generation than we inherited it," he said.

"We all have to work together in order to get this done," he said, adding that he and Macron had discussed the climate issue in depth during their meeting.

He praised the French leader as a formidable force for France and for the world, particularly on environmental issues, which were something that "we both feel very passionate about."

Global pact on environmental rights to be presented to UN
Paris (AFP) June 24, 2017 - Hollywood star turned activist Arnold Schwarzenegger joined politicians and legal experts in Paris Saturday to launch a campaign for a global pact to protect the human right to a clean, healthy environment.

French President Emmanuel Macron promised to present the pact which its supporters want to see become an international treaty to the United Nations in September.

"With the planetary plan, we need to move on to a new stage after the Paris accord," said Macron, referring to the landmark agreement signed in December 2015 by 196 nations to take steps to reduce greenhouse gases and combat global warming.

The end goal of the new pact is a legal treaty under which states can be brought to justice for flouting the rights of a group or individual.

"We already have two international (human rights) pacts... The idea is to create a third, for a third generation of rights -- environmental rights," said former French prime minister Laurent Fabius, who also presided over the Paris COP 21 conference on climate change.

Seeking to underline the urgency of the need to act, Fabius said it was time for "less talk, more action", borrowing the turn of phrase from ex-California governor-turned climate campaigner Schwarzenegger, who joined the gathering, as did former UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

Other participants at the meeting at the Sorbonne university included high court judges from several countries.

- 'Not right versus left' -

The initiative comes just weeks after President Donald Trump announced that he would pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement on curbing dangerous global warming.

But Schwarzenegger in his campaigning to fight climate change said it must not be a partisan political issue.

"It is absolutely imperative that we not make it a political issue," he said after meeting Macron on Friday.

"This is not the right versus the left because there is no liberal air or conservative air. We all breathe the same air. There is no liberal water or conservative water, we all drink the same water," the star of "The Terminator" movies said.

The new pact will eventually be put to the United Nations for adoption, and impose legally-binding obligations on signatory states, its drafters say.

The earlier covenants -- one for social, economic and cultural rights, the other for civil and political rights -- were adopted by the UN in 1966.

Fabius says the new text will outline rights and duties, provide for reparations to be made in case of a breach, and introduce the "polluter pays" principle, holding them legally responsible or compelling them to adopt green laws.

That would be in marked contrast to earlier declarations such as that made following the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio which was not legally binding.

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OECD: Air pollution, urbanization offsetting gains in renewables
Washington (UPI) Jun 21, 2017
Air pollution remains high globally and urban areas are expanding, showing a more comprehensive effort is needed on the environmental front, the OECD said. "While there are signs of greening growth, most countries show progress on just one or two fronts and little on the others," OECD Environment Director Simon Upton said in a statement Tuesday. The Organization for Economic Coop ... read more

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