Leonardo DiCaprio: Why the next nine years are THE most important in our lives for the planet

Virgin Radio

24 Jan 2022, 10:38

When DiCaprio speaks, we do. Listen up, people. The acting veteran is pleading with people to 'work collectively together' on climate change or else, like a terrifying Hollywood blockbuster, we're all doomed.

The Don't Look Up actor spoke passionately about climate change and the impact on our precious planet. He told Deadline: "I’ve had two great passions in my life. That has been acting, and the protection of the natural world and getting the message out about the climate crisis.

"I think there’s a worldwide sense of anxiety about the fact that the powers that be, the private sector, governments, are not making the transition fast enough. We literally have a nine-year window."

He added: "The main thing that it boils down to is, if you’re an individual, you, A, have to get involved. You have to vote for people that care about this issue and take science seriously. And we should not have any elected leaders, on a state level, on a city level, or a national level that don’t listen to science, especially in this country.

"By population, we are per capita the largest polluters in the world, and even scientists have been saying this for decades now.

"We need to set the example for the rest of the world to follow. We’re an incredibly rich nation and we need to make this transition."

He continued: "If we reach this 1.5-degree threshold, where we hit that certain point in nature, there’s all kinds of lightning-rod points with methane and the tundra and warming of our oceans, the acidification of our oceans.

"Most of the carbon that we’ve emitted to the atmosphere, now has been absorbed by the oceans. We’re not even feeling the real impact of climate change yet and our oceans are now warming at record levels.

"Each year is getting hotter than the next, and that doesn’t stop. We’re not going to see that stop. So, to mitigate the climate crises, I mean, it is, Don't Look Up."

He said: "When we reach a threshold where the thawing of the ice and the tundra and Greenland and the arctic starts to release even more carbon… we’re already seeing it happen."

Talking about his latest movie, he said: "I’m very proud that it’s creating a conversation. The movie is being watched all over the world, and there is a feeling of anxiety amongst the world community about this issue.

"Who knows if a film can ever change anything ultimately, but I’m certainly proud to be a part of a piece of art like this. Like Jen Lawrence says in the movie, at least we tried."