Leonardo DiCaprio Says We Have A ‘9-Year Window’ To Address Climate Change

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is well-known for his passion for climate change, which is part of the reason he joined the cast of Adam McKay’s climate change comedy, “Don’t Look Up.”

In an exclusive interview with Deadline, the former “Titanic” actor revealed that he “always wanted to do a film about this subject matter. It is incredibly hard to tackle the subject matter over the climate crises in a two-, three-hour format. It’s something like a slow, deadly roll, as far as ramifications of climate to the environment.”

“I really just felt like Adam cracked the code with this idea of it becoming a comet, and have society and the media and people make it a partisan issue,” he continued.

“There’s very few movies that really communicate a shared worldwide anxiety and experience like this, so I jumped on board in the height of Covid to do this movie and it was an incredible experience,” he added. “Especially while we were watching so many things play out in real-time.”

“The Revenant” Oscar winner is just as passionate about climate change as the character he portrays in the film, and he has a message for fans who are looking to do something about the climate crisis.

“The Wolf of Wall Street” actor says that he has two great passions in his life.

“That has been acting, and the protection of the natural world and getting the message out about the climate crisis,” he explained. “I’ve had a foundation for 20 years. I got to go to Glasgow. I got to see world leaders make some pretty substantial commitments, but much like this movie, there is a ticking clock.”

“I think there’s a worldwide sense of anxiety about the fact that the powers that be, the private sector, governments, are not making the transition fast enough,” he added, warning, “We literally have a nine-year window.”

“So, this movie is certainly not that far off as far as the urgency of the matter,” he continued. “I think that a lot of this has been shrouded and complicated by fake scientists who have been hired by oil companies all the way back when Exxon found out about and tried to bury and distract from the evidence about the impacts of too much carbon in our atmosphere.”

Although he understands the emphasis that’s been made on recycling, he stated that “there are 100 companies which are producing 70 percent of the world’s emissions. There are massive industries that are polluting our atmosphere, and the private sector needs to step the h--- up.”

“Our governments, the governments of the world, need to work together as one communal species and we need to evolve as a species to tackle this issue,” he said.

“The main thing that it boils down to is, if you’re an individual, you, A, have to get involved,” he continued. “You have to vote for people that care about this issue and take science seriously. And we should not have any elected leaders, on a state level, on a city level, or a national level that don’t listen to science, especially in this country.”

“So, vote,” he added. “Vote for people that are sane.”

He also warned that “we’re not even feeling the real impact of climate change yet and our oceans are now warming at record levels. Each year is getting hotter than the next, and that doesn’t stop. We’re not going to see that stop. So, to mitigate the climate crises, I mean, it is, don’t look up.”

He also stated that technology is not going to be a panacea for the climate crisis, as some critics claim.

“We’re running out of time,” he explained. “We have answers with renewables and ways to make this transition, but the private sector and the governments of the world need to work together. And we, the people, need to make this… rather than it being number six or seven or eight on the list of priorities when it comes to elections, it’s got to be in the top two.”

“When I say warming leads to more warming, it essentially means this: it ain’t going to get any better. It can only get worse.”

Leonardo DiCaprio has seen plenty of criticism about the film’s message, and he thinks he understands why the film is so controversial.

“When we reach a threshold where the thawing of the ice and the tundra and Greenland and the arctic starts to release even more carbon… we’re already seeing it happen,” he explained. “That’s why this movie is so important.”

“It is really the question of what the media prioritizes,” he added.

“I think that’s why this movie has been controversial and a lightning-rod show,” he continued. “Some people knew how to react to it, some didn’t, but I’ll tell you one thing. I’m very proud that it’s creating a conversation.”

“The movie is being watched all over the world, and there is a feeling of anxiety amongst the world community about this issue,” he shared. “Who knows if a film can ever change anything ultimately, but I’m certainly proud to be a part of a piece of art like this. Like Jen Lawrence says in the movie, at least we tried.”

“Don’t Look Up” is currently available to stream on Netflix.