Former California governor and “Terminator” star Arnold Schwarzenegger took the stage at USC Annenberg on Thursday morning with a clear call of action: “terminate pollution.”
The conversation, moderated by Dean Willow Bay, was part of the Planet Media Summit, a climate communication event hosted at the Annenberg School in collaboration with the USC Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication. Schwarzenegger was joined by a panel of climate advocates across academia and media, including Sean Decatur, president of the American Museum of Natural History, and Laura Shifter, managing director of K12 Climate Action.
Bay opened the conversation by acknowledging the challenges today’s climate communicators are facing.
“This is a very disorienting moment,” Bay said. “We come following 2024 — the hottest year on record — yet it didn’t show up as an issue in the election. And now, we are watching an administration dismantle so much of the important climate work that has preceded it.”
Schwarzenegger, who founded the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, focused his remarks on the need for better storytelling and direct communication when discussing climate issues.
“We have to find ways to communicate better about pollution and the danger of pollution rather than calling it a fancy name like climate change,” he said.
This messaging strategy is at the core of Schwarzenegger’s approach to climate advocacy. Through his Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, he encourages public officials, business leaders and everyday citizens to take practical steps like installing solar panels and cutting vehicle emissions, regardless of who holds political power.
“If Trump is president or not,” he said, “we build our solar panels on top of those buildings no matter what.”
But for Schwarzenegger, the real message goes beyond technology or policy. It’s about personal responsibility and rejecting the idea that change must come from the top down.
“We are not waiting for someone else to come save us,” Schwarzenegger said. “Every single one of us has the power to reduce pollution, to fight for clean air and to protect our families. It starts with us.”
That urgency was reflected in the data presented by Shifter, who shared troubling statistics about youth climate literacy in the U.S.
“Only 12% of teens felt they knew a lot about the cause of climate change,” Shifter explained. “And only 10% felt they knew a lot about climate solutions. Over 50% of them think it’s going to happen in about 20 or more years.”
As managing director of K12 Climate Action, Shifter works to integrate climate education and sustainability into America’s public school systems. The organization partners with educators, policymakers and nonprofits to help prepare the next generation for challenges they will inherit and to equip them with the knowledge to respond.
For many Annenberg students in the audience, the morning’s session reinforced the responsibility future journalists, filmmakers and policymakers carry in shaping public understanding.
“We have a tendency of always telling young people the world they’re inheriting is terrible,” Schwarzenegger said. “Eventually, the brain gets numb…and people throw in the towel. You have to give people hope and you have to show them what can be done. That’s how you create change.”
Schwarzenegger’s journey — from bodybuilder to governor to climate advocate — is often cited as a lesson in transformation. But at Thursday’s event, he made it clear he’s not interested in legacy, he’s interested in action.
“It’s an institute that brings awareness to issues like the environment, healthcare, homelessness, infrastructure — all of those kinds of issues that are very important,” Schwarzenegger said of the USC institute bearing his name.
As the world prepares for advanced climate policy, Schwarzenegger’s message to the Trojan community was simple: “You have the power to create change.”