Leonardo DiCaprio takes on the coal, oil and gas industries – pledges $15 million to help save the planet.
Leonardo DiCaprio launched a scathing attack on the coal, oil and gas industries during a Tuesday speech at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, where he received a Crystal Award for “improving the state of the world.”
“We simply cannot allow the corporate greed of the coal, oil and gas industries to determine the future of humanity,” DiCaprio told the audience. “Those entities with a financial interest in preserving this destructive system have denied and even covered up the evidence of our changing climate.”
“Enough is enough. You know better. The world knows better. History will place the blame for this devastation squarely at their feet.”
The Oscar-nominated actor also stated that the solution to limiting global warming is to leave the planet’s coal, oil and gas reserves alone.
“Our planet cannot be saved unless we leave fossil fuels in the ground where they belong,” he stated, adding “Twenty years ago, we described this problem as an addiction. Today, we possess the means to end this reliance.”
DiCaprio also took the opportunity to announce that the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation would be making $15 million in grants available to support environmental protection.
Noting that less than three percent of all philanthropic funds goes towards “defending our planet,” DiCaprio pledged to join the work of other business leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Besos to began changing that.
“Professor Mark Jacobson and a team of researchers at Stanford University have proven that we can meet the world’s total energy demand using existing renewable technology by 2050,” DiCaprio said, adding that “This transition is not only the right thing for our world, it makes clear economic sense and it is possible within our lifetime.”
The $15 million will go to projects and partnerships, from a grant to protect 6.5 million acres of rainforest on Sumatra from the “invasive and destructive practices” of the palm oil industry to an alliance his foundation has set up with Google to help prevent overfishing.
As The Guardian reports: “DiCaprio was one of four winners of a Crystal award at WEF this year. The fund also recognised Chinese actor Yao Chen for her work raising public awareness of the refugee, artist Olafur Eliasson, and musician will.i.am for his i.am angel Foundation, which tries to keep young underprivileged young people in education, and out of trouble.”
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