Leonardo DiCaprio calls for climate change at Oscars

Leonardo DiCaprio turned his first win at the Academy Awards into a passionate call to action for climate change during Sunday’s ceremony (28Feb16).
The Hollywood star nabbed the Best Actor trophy for his portrayal of 19th century frontiersman and fur trapper Hugh Glass in survivor thriller The Revenant, and after giving thanks to the cast and crew of the film, DiCaprio ended his speech by delivering a powerful message about the environment.
“Making The Revenant was about man’s relationship to the natural world,” he said. “The world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in reported history – our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow.
“Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It’s the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.
“We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters or the big corporations, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people who will be most affected by this.”
“For our children’s children and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed, I thank you all for this amazing award tonight,” Leonardo concluded.
DiCaprio’s speech echoed the sentiments he made during his acceptance speech for the Best Actor honour at the Golden Globe Awards last month (Jan16), when he urged for the protection of indigenous communities around the world.
DiCaprio’s Oscar night win was his first after five nominations.