celebrity advocacy

Leonardo DiCaprio Takes on Climate-Change Skeptics in U.N. Speech

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 23: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio speaks at the United Nations Climate Summit on September 23, 2014 in New York City. The summit, which is meeting one day before the UN General Assembly begins, is bringing together world leaders, scientists and activists looking to curb climate change. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Photo: Andrew Burton/2014 Getty Images

Following on the heels of Emma Watson’s eloquent speech on feminism at the U.N. this Sunday, Leonardo DiCaprio is the latest celebrity attempting to win the hearts and minds of our global leaders. Rocking a man-bun and an aggressively bushy beard — which we can only assume is an ecofriendly insulation method to cut down on heating emissions — the newly appointed U.N Messenger of Peace spoke out about climate change at the United Nations Climate Summit on Tuesday, saying, “As an actor, I pretend for a living. I play fictitious characters, often solving fictitious problems. I believe that mankind has looked at climate change in that same way — as if it were a fiction, as if pretending that climate change wasn’t real would somehow make it go away.”

DiCaprio’s environmental activism is widely known: This weekend, he was front and center at the People’s Climate Change March in New York City, and he also received the Clinton Global Citizen Award for his advocacy efforts. And he certainly wasn’t soft-pedaling the issue during his U.N. address: “To be clear, this is not about just telling people to change their lightbulbs or to buy a hybrid car. This disaster has grown beyond the choices that individuals make. This is now about our industries and our governments around the world taking decisive and large-scale action,” he continued. I am not a scientist, but I don’t need to be. Because the world’s scientific community has spoken, and they have given us our prognosis, if we do not act together, we will surely perish.”

Watch the video, and try not to let his facial hair detract from the message:

DiCaprio Addresses Climate Skeptics at U.N.