The awards
celebrate the achievements of leading artists who have shown exemplary commitments
to improving the state of the world.
After picking
up a crystal award for his work on environmentalism, the actor explained he had
seen the devastation caused by climate change firsthand, from melting glaciers
in the Arctic to farmers whose crops had been washed away.
A globally
recognized actor and producer, Leonardo DiCaprio has long been a passionate
advocate for environmental sustainability. With the Leonardo DiCaprio
Foundation (http://leonardodicaprio.org/), which he founded in 1998, he has been
active on a range of sustainability topics, including the protecting of key
species, among them sharks in California, tigers in Asia, and elephants in
Africa. He has also called on world leaders to address climate change and was
designated as the United Nations Messenger of Peace for Climate Change.
DiCaprio says: “Clean air, water, and a liveable climate are inalienable human
rights. And solving this crisis is not a question of politics, it is a question
of our own survival.”
