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Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the most famous actors, not just in Hollywood, but all around the world.
You must know him from his blockbuster films including Titanic, Shutter Island, The Aviator, Wolf of Wallstreet, and The Revenant along with many other spectacular movies he’s performed in.
Leonardo DiCaprio burst onto the scenes through his breakthrough film “Rome + Juliet” back in 1996, and since then has continued to make strides in his acting career.
He is a versatile actor; fully committed in all the roles he has performed, especially in The Revenant, which got him his first Oscar (Best Actor) in 2016.
However, most people are not aware of the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio is also a very active environmentalist trying to combat climate change across the world through “THE LEONARDO DICAPRIO FOUNDATION”.
Since 2008, his foundation (LDF) has awarded grants of over 100 million dollars to support efforts across six key areas which include
- Climate change,
- Wildlife and landscapes,
- Marine life and ocean protection,
- Indigenous rights,
- Media and technology,
- Local solutions in California.
He also made a documentary called “Sea of Shadows” which won at the Sundance awards and convinced the release of 100 captive Beluga whales by persuading the Russian government in 2019.
Let’s look at some of the efforts of Leonardo DiCaprio in fighting climate change and saving our planet.
The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF)
Leonardo DiCaprio, in 1998, established this foundation with the mission to protect those corners of the world that remain untouched by human presence (in short: true wildlife habitats).
LDF supports implanting solutions that help in restoration of ecosystems and ensure long-term survival and sustainability of all inhabitants on the planet.
Since 1998, LDF has tirelessly worked to protect the planet. Through various grantmaking, public speaking, and various media initiatives they have brought attention of the public to six program areas which are Climate change, wildlife and landscapes, marine life and ocean, indigenous rights, media and technology, and local solutions in California.
Other ways Dicaprio ensured raising awareness about ‘climate change’.
Social Media Presence
Leonardo has used the presence of Social media to great effect; to connect his followers and fans with matters of utmost concern. The actor’s accounts are filled with various campaigns, consisting of posts related to climate change, wildlife protection, conservation, and women’s rights.
With over 29 million followers on integral, DiCaprio has regularly used this platform in the promotion of various issues. He truly set an example to other various celebrity megastars about how their fame can really help to make an impact on the planet.
Public Speaking
Leonardo has used his presence as one of the biggest A-list actors on the planet for a noble cause.
In his 2016 Oscar speech for winning best actor for the movie The Revenant, he used the opportunity to highlight the issue of climate change in front of 34.4 million viewers. Here’s a video you should definitely watch!
Google trends, Twitter searches and many search engine analytics agreed that it was the biggest tide of raising awareness regarding climate change ever seen.
Leo did the same in 2007 when he joined the current Vice president of that time Al Gore to announce his partnership with Natural Resource Defense Counsel (NRDC) to lower global carbon footprint.
He has also worked as a United Nations Messenger of Peace and famously spoke at the UN climate leaders’ summit in 2014.
Most Recently, Leo spoke at Global Citizen Festival NYC in September 2019.
Promotion through Films
The actor has put his knowledge and film-making credentials to use and made several animal and environmental welfare documentaries.
This includes two short web documentaries “Water Planet” and “Global Warming” as well as full-length documentaries called “Cowspiracy” and “Sea of Shadows”.
His film in 2016 regarding global warming “Before the Flood” was one of the most watched documentaries in history.
Haven’t watched it? Here’s the trailer!
The film went on to accumulate over 60 million views in under three months. Imagine the awareness raised!
Humanitarian Work
DiCaprio has also acted as a philanthropist being committed to human causes such as the protection of human rights and education. LDF worked in collaboration with Amazon Watch to advance and protect the rights of indigenous tribes of the Amazon basin.
The foundation has also worked tirelessly in conservation of history and culture of the Chumash people, the standing rock Sioux tribe, and the Alutiiq community.
He also donated 65,000 dollars to the Children of Armenia Fund in 2016 and worked alongside 24 orphaned children of Mozambique during the filming of “Blood Diamond”. I’m sure one of these must’ve been inspired by him to be an advocate to his cause of climate change.
These efforts show how Leonardo and his foundation are working effortlessly to raise awareness among people and to fight climate change so that our planet may thrive rather than be taken to the brink of destruction which it currently is on.
Before we wrap up, I’d like to tell you about the ‘One Earth’ campaign by LDF.
What is the ‘One Earth’ campaign by Leonardo Dicaprio?
One Earth is a campaign launched by The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation with the vision of humanity and the natural world coexisting in harmony.
The project aims to:
- Make the world generate 100% clean renewable energy,
- 50% of the lands and oceans being protected, and
- Less-than-zero carbon emissions from agriculture,
All of this being a global vision of LDF that they wish to achieve by 2050. This is a monumental task to achieve, especially given the fact that they have set a timeframe (30 years) to achieve this goal.
This will basically tackle the biggest issues on our planet; (including but not limited to) Lack of biodiversity and food security as well as rapidly increasing climate change.
It will require hard work, innovation, and a new way of vision and understanding nature. But this task is definitely achievable and needs to be achieved in order to stay below the dangerous global warming tipping point of 1.5ᵒC.
One Earth will take on a bio-regional approach (190 Bioregions) in which individual, organizations, and governments will be able to monitor their efforts in their respective region as contribution to a larger effort around the globe.
One Earth will aim to provide new initiatives concerning the protection of the environment by putting in billions of dollars to provide the protection of all the inhabitants on the planet by dramatically ramping up conservation and sustainability efforts worldwide.
More on oneearth.org
Personally, I have to say I find his work extremely inspiring and it highly motivates me in promoting awareness and finding solutions to environmental dilemmas that we face today! I do hope we cross paths some day.
List of other celebrities working to fight global warming and climate change include:
- Jane Fonda
- Mark Ruffalo
- Shawn Mendes
- Cate Blanchett
- Shailene Woodley
