Actor Mark Ruffalo is outspoken on political issues, especially climate change. Now he’s saying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be a good catalyst for advancing President Biden’s climate-focused initiatives, Fox News reported. He even called the war a “gift” for the movement.
The “13 Going On 30” star made the remarks during an episode of MSNBC Reports. “How do you fight against the advocacy groups out of there, the dark money groups out of there, that are out there that fight against climate change?” host Katy Tur inquired of the panel, which included Ruffalo.
“I mean, the Koch brothers, there’s all sorts of dark money that has stopped solar energy in Arizona. Arizona, which has the most sunlight,” she continued. “So, how do you, with this campaign, cut through the mis and disinformation?”
Ruffalo pushed for renewable energy no matter who supported it or how complicated it was to instate.
“On the Koch brothers. Yeah, there is the dark money and that’s definitively an issue, but when you look at how quickly we are actually moving on this transition, when you look at how many jobs it’s created; it doesn’t matter what the Koch brothers say or do,” Ruffalo said. “At the end of the day, we are going to win and we are going to transition over.”
“Are we going to do it in a graceful way or are we gonna do it … kicking and screaming?” the actor continued.
Next, Ruffalo said the conflict in Ukraine was a “gift” for Biden because he could use the public’s emotions to advance legislation that was focused on combating climate change.
“This is a moment for President Biden to take this, our momentum, people’s fear, their disgust of the war, their disgust with energy prices and–and use that to solidify a message to the American people that now is the time to transition,” the activist actor said.
“This where the jobs are, this is where national security is, and we’re going to keep pushing him to do it and this is a gift to the president as we see it and we see him accepting it in such terms,” Ruffalo said.
The “Now You See Me” actor isn’t pleased with everyone using global events their benefit, however. On Monday, Ruffalo tweeted his response to an article detailing how gas prices increased to over $4/gallon since 2020 and company executives retained their high salaries.
The caption of Ruffalo’s tweet read: “War Profiteering. 🤮 While the rest of the country suffers from their gouging, these CEOs screw the USA over.”