California governor and 'Terminator' actor Arnold Schwarzenegger is following in the footsteps of Tony Blair by lending his support to anti-climate change campaign Together as it launches in the US.

Schwarzenegger will be joined by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon to celebrate the launch of Together in the US and the beginning of an international rollout.

The Together initiative was first launched in the UK last year and is supported by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former PM Tony Blair, London mayor Boris Johnson and former US vice-president Al Gore.

In the US, eight major brands have joined Together, including JP Morgan Chase, the campaign's founding corporate partner, Dell, Target, MySpace, Nestle Waters and Timberland .

They are supported by seven cities across the country and eight non-profit organisations including The American Red Cross in Greater New York and the National Wildlife Federation.

MTV, News Corporation's Fox TV and Time Warner have joined the campaign as media partners to promote it to a wider audience.

Schwarzenegger said: "By making it easier and more affordable for Americans to fight climate change, we are taking a giant step towards a brighter and cleaner future.

"I extend my best wishes for every success in saying 'hasta la vista' to climate change."

In just one year Together claims to have helped British consumers save more than half-a-million tonnes of CO2 and £100m on household bills.

UK brands supporting the campaign include B&Q, Barclaycard, British Gas, BSkyB, Coca Cola, Marks & Spencer, More Th>n, National Express, O2, Tesco and Warner Bros.

Dr Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group, which runs Together, said: "As many millions of American consumers discover how easy and affordable it is to tackle climate change, the impact seen in the UK will be multiplied many times over.

"With plans for the campaign to roll out globally in the coming months Together is set to engage citizens of the biggest greenhouse gas-emitting nations including China, India and Australia."

Source: Brand republic