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In December last year, a few weeks after Donald Trump won the US Presidential election, Leonardo DiCaprio met with the president-elect to discuss climate change.
Judging from Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement and his slow but steady dismantling of environmental protection policies since he got to the White House, it appears Leo’s attempted heart-to-heart with Trump did little good.
Which might be why DiCaprio has now decided to speak publicly about what happened at the meeting, and attack Trump for his inaction on the issue.
Speaking at the Yale Climate Conference in the US this week, the Oscar winner told a room packed with more than 2,000 people:
“We presented him with a comprehensive plan to tackle climate change, while also simultaneously harnessing the economic potential of green jobs,” DiCaprio said according to the Hartford Courant.
“We talked about how the United States has the potential to lead the world in clean-energy manufacturing and research and development.”
Turning his attention to the Trump government, Leo continued:
“We should not have people in office who do not believe in facts and truths and modern science that are able to manipulate and risk the entire future of this entire generation.
“We are at that turning point right now, and we are going to look back at this point in history, and frankly this administration, and certain people are going to be vilified for not taking action. They really are. And it’s up to this generation, it’s up to all of you to get involved and make a difference.”
DiCaprio has been campaigning for action on climate change for years, and produced documentary Before The Flood which shows the damage global warming has caused the earth so far and presents potential solutions.
Watch part of Leo’s talk at Yale below.
