In an exclusive interview with CTV's Canada AM, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged Canadians and industry leaders to be more aggressive in combating global warming.
"Canada feels and California feels, that we can do much more and that we have to be very aggressive about it," Schwarzenegger said on Thursday.
"The way that we can do more is through working together. The more partnerships that we form, the better it is," Schwarzenegger said.
Schwarzenegger said the exchange of research and technology, which he deemed "the saviour of everything," was the main focus behind his three-day trade mission to Canada.
"Any time that someone says we are doing enough for the environment, that person is a liar. Let them never take that for an answer," Schwarzenegger said.
The governor said Canadian and Californian industry need to make changes toward a greener future by utilizing technology and exchanging ideas.
He said criticism by both environmentalists and industry leaders of the Conservative's green plan, forces the government to do more to fight global warming.
Green plans
Schwarzenegger said conservation efforts are what made the fight to combat global warming so popular in the state of California.
"Conservation is inevitably one of the most important ingredients in making this all work," Schwarzenegger said.
"The thing that really made us come out ahead in this is that people are really into conservation in our state and conservation has worked so well that now our energy output is at the same level it was five years ago, so we really are doing well," the governor said.
Schwarzenegger has pledged to cut his state's greenhouse emissions 25 per cent by the year 2020, and an additional 80 per cent by the year 2050.
The governor was in Toronto Wednesday morning to meet with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.
McGuinty and Schwarzenegger signed an agreement to cut emissions in the province, but the plan will fall short of California's tough emission caps.
Stem-cell research
The Ontario premier and Schwarzenegger also signed a new $30-million joint research venture to facilitate stem-cell research.
Schwarzenegger is a leading supporter of stem-cell research and said he hopes new discoveries will lead to "a cure for deadly and debilitating diseases."
The governor said he is committed to aggressively pursuing stem-cell research because he is a public servant and his father-in-law suffers from Alzheimer's disease.
"I see him slowly deteriorating. He barely recognizes me, I have to speak with him for hours until he recognizes me and he doesn't recognize his own wife," the governor said.
Schwarzenegger said it makes him sad that his father-in-law Sargent Shriver will never be around to experience the benefits of stem-cell research.
"I want to speed up the process of stem-cell research and go beyond the debates," Schwarzenegger said.
"What I'm interested in as governor is saving lives."
Schwarzenegger says even though he can't run for president -- foreign-born citizens are not allowed to run -- he focuses on the great opportunities that living in the U.S. has provided him.
"If I would have gone to any other country in the world, I would have never had the opportunities I've had in the United States," Schwarzenegger said.
Schwarzenegger is wrapping up his three-day tour of Canada with a visit to Vancouver today where he will meet with B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell.
