- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.2% | 24.65 | $ | |
SCS | -0.7% | 12.88 | $ | |
BCC | 0.48% | 139.569 | $ | |
GSK | 0.06% | 38.845 | $ | |
NGG | -1.28% | 65.66 | $ | |
BCE | -0.33% | 33.6 | $ | |
RIO | -0.13% | 69.61 | $ | |
BTI | -0.02% | 35.284 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
RELX | -0.6% | 46.015 | $ | |
JRI | -0.38% | 13.23 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BP | 0.74% | 33.125 | $ | |
AZN | -0.36% | 77.19 | $ | |
VOD | 0.21% | 9.68 | $ |
Jane Fonda ready to 'kick ass' on climate crisis
She is 85, has a glittering film career behind her, and recently battled cancer, but Jane Fonda doesn't intend to slow down her activism on climate change -- the "greatest crisis ever to confront humanity" -- anytime soon.
"My cancer is in remission. I've got a lot of energy. I'm ready to kick some more ass," she told AFP on Thursday, backstage at the ongoing Hollywood Climate Summit.
"I'm part of the Hollywood community. I don't think the Hollywood community has done enough to confront this crisis. So I'm here to encourage that," said the double Oscar-winning actor.
The summit brings filmmakers together with scientists and activists, in a bid to change the industry's culture and encourage better climate messaging to global audiences.
Taking place at the Oscar-bestowing Academy's headquarters in Los Angeles, it has featured speakers such as "Everything Everywhere All At Once" directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, and "Abbott Elementary" star Quinta Brunson.
Fonda led a panel named "Hollywood Takes on Big Oil and Gas," calling for the entertainment industry to scrap all fossil fuel investments and to reduce its carbon footprint.
She discussed a California law banning new oil wells within 3,200 feet (975 meters) of homes, schools and parks.
After years of campaigning, the bill was finally signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last year -- only for energy firms to garner enough petition signatures to freeze the measure, and require a statewide referendum next year.
"People are getting cancer, heart disease, lung disease, asthma -- kids missing school, children born with defects because they live next to fossil fuel infrastructures," said Fonda.
If the oil companies succeed in opposing the bill "in a blue, environmental state like California, this is going to become a precedent in other states around the country," she said.
"It has to be stopped. This is all-hands-on-deck."
- 'All I can' -
Fonda first shot to fame in the 1960s with roles such as "Barbarella," which made her an international sex symbol, before garnering critical acclaim and two Academy Awards in the following decade for "Klute" and "Coming Home."
Over the same period, she launched into activism.
Most controversially, Fonda became the first Hollywood celebrity to visit Hanoi to protest the Vietnam war, earning the nickname "Hanoi Jane."
But environmentalism has long been a priority for Fonda, who has become one of America's leading political activists.
In recent years alone, she has spoken on ocean biodiversity at the United Nations, protested a proposed oil pipeline in Minnesota, and been arrested on a weekly basis for climate demonstrations outside the US Capitol in Washington.
"If I'm not doing the things that you just mentioned, I get so depressed I can't sleep," said Fonda.
"But I'm not depressed, because I'm doing all I can... We all have to do all we can, before it's too late."
Admittedly, speaking out on green issues comes with risks for celebrities. Critics are invariably quick to accuse famous stars of enjoying glamorous lifestyles while preaching austerity.
But Fonda believes those jibes are often simply a sign that the message is working.
"They do that when we're effective," she said.
"The right-wing segments of our society don't like it when famous people speak out, because people will listen to us.
"And so they say, 'What does she know? She's just an actor.'"
- 'People listen' -
Fonda has also enjoyed a flurry of acting projects in recent years, such as films "80 for Brady" and "Book Club: The Next Chapter," as well as the popular Netflix series "Grace and Frankie."
But last September, she revealed she had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and had begun chemotherapy.
Just three months later, Fonda -- who previously overcame breast and skin cancer scares -- announced the disease was in remission, and that she was no longer in treatment.
While a writer's strike has currently brought many Hollywood productions to a halt, Fonda intends to refocus her energies entirely on activism in the build-up to next year's US elections.
"I don't intend to even try to work for the next year-and-a-half, because I want to focus on this," she said. "The next election is really crucial."
Fonda added: "When you're famous and you have a platform, people listen, people pay attention."
"And so use it! For a crisis that is the greatest crisis ever to confront humanity."
F.Dubois--AMWN