Climate crisis: for Leonardo DiCaprio, “we must vote for people who take science seriously”

It’s a movie everyone is talking about. In don’t look up, broadcast since Christmas on Netflix, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play two scientists who try to alert the public and the authorities against the imminent fall of a meteorite on Earth. For many conservationists, it’s a blatant metaphor for the general blindness to the climate crisis. On Wednesday, in the Strasbourg parliament, the EELV deputy and presidential candidate Yannick Jadot did not hesitate to compare Emmanuel Macron to the American president interpreted on screen by Meryl Streep…

In a long and fascinating interview with the American site Deadline, Leonardo DiCaprio himself is worried about the inaction of politicians. “I have a foundation for 20 years, I went to the top of Glasgow. I see these world leaders who commit to a minimum. But like in the movie, the clock is ticking“, warns the actor. “I believe that there is a planetary anxiety linked to the fact that the powers that be, the private sector, the governments, are not making the energy transition fast enough. We have a nine-year window to act.”, he says with reference to the latest IPCC report.

For the star, “we are coming to a time when we have to act as if it were the Second World War. I hear a lot of people say that technology will fix it. But we are running out of time. We have answers with renewable energies and ways to make the transition. But the private sector and governments must work together. And we, the citizens, must make sure that it is one of the first priorities during the elections, not priority 6 or 7.”

Very lively, Leonardo DiCaprio insists: “We need to vote for people who are sensitive to this issue and who take science seriously. We shouldn’t have a single elected official, at any level, who doesn’t listen to science, especially in the United States. United We are the worst polluters on the planet per capita, scientists have been saying for decades We must be exemplary so that the rest of the world follows us (…) Vote for people who are sane.”

In this interview, the actor evokes the scene where his character and that played by Jennifer Lawrence try to get their message across, in vain, on the set of a talk show. “Having filmed several documentaries myself, I can attest to the frustration of the scientific community because I had the opportunity to meet incredible climate specialists who are marginalized in the media“, he says. “Who did not know how to approach this kind of situation in which they must express their expertise.”

A movie like don’t look up can it lead to real awareness? “I’m proud that we created a discussion“, replies Leonardo DiCaprio. “The film is watched all over the world and its success testifies to growing anxiety about these issues. I don’t know if a movie can change anything, but I’m proud to be part of a work of art like this. As the character played by Jennifer would say, at least we tried.”