Star in climate change plea

AMERICAN actor Leonardo DiCaprio has issued an impassioned call for immediate action on climate change in Before the Flood a documentary film making its European premiere in London at the weekend.

The Hollywood megastar, who won this year’s best actor Oscar for his role in The Revenant, takes viewers around the world to meet experts and politicians in order to reveal the scale of the problem, its effects and the paths towards solutions.

As the inter-governmental Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rises comes into force on November 4, the US actor calls on individuals to examine their own habits and use their vote wisely to tackle the issue.

“I didn’t want the film to scare people, or present them with statistics and facts that they already know, but to focus on what can and must be done immediately so that we can leave our planet a livable home for future generations,” the 41year-old said.

“We are quickly running out of time,” said DiCaprio, who also co-produced the film.

From the remote Canadian landscapes where he shot The Revenant, to the suburbs of Beijing, Greenland, Indonesia’s Sumatra and the Pacific atolls of Kiribati, DiCaprio whizzes round the planet to see the extent of the damage.

DiCaprio shows viewers the effects of pollution in China and examines the sea levels which threaten tiny island communities and the longer-term effects of deforestation.

The actor, named a United Nations “messenger of peace” on climate change, attacks giant corporations and politicians – especially Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump – for their stance on climate change. – AFP