American actor Leonardo DiCaprio made an fervent case for bold action to stem climate degradation at the United Nations on Friday, as leaders from 175 countries signed the Paris Agreement to save the planet.
The Academy Award-winning actor, a UN Messenger of Peace, was speaking at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where the government leaders gathered for the signing ceremony of the climate accord reached in Paris last year. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the world has to race against time to halt further harm to the climate.
DiCaprio spoke about the urgency to address the climate change crisis that is changing the natural balance of earth.
During travels over the past two years, DiCaprio said he has seen cities like Beijing choked by industrial pollution; ancient boreal forests in Canada that have been clearcut; rainforests in Indonesia that have been incinerated; and unprecedented droughts in California.
“All that I have seen and learned on this journey has terrified me […] I do not need to throw statistics at you. You know them better than I do, and more importantly, you know what will happen if this scourge is left unchecked,” he said.
“Now think about the shame that each of us will carry when our children and grandchildren look back and realize that we had the means of stopping this devastation, but simply lacked the political will to do so.”
While the historic signing of the Paris Agreement is a reason for hope, it will not be enough, he argued, emphasizing the call for urgent action.
“Our planet cannot be saved unless we leave fossil fuels in the ground where they belong. An upheaval and massive change is required now – one that leads to a new collective consciousness. A new collective evolution of the human race inspired and enabled by a sense of urgency from all of you,” he said.
![By See Li [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.viewsnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Leonardo-2014.jpg)
By See Li [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
This is the only body that can do what is needed. You, sitting in this very hall. The world is now watching. You will either be lauded by future generations, or vilified by them.”
The film star also quoted form President Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech to underscore the responsibility that the current generation of leaders and people owes to posterity.
“Lincoln’s words still resonate to all of us here today:
“We will be remembered in spite of ourselves. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the last generation… We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”
Continuing, the actor said ,“that is our charge now – you are the last best hope of Earth. We ask you to protect it. Or we – and all living things we cherish – are history.”
