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United States - 2014
Leonardo DiCaprio
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) designates Leonardo DiCaprio as a UN Messenger of Peace with a special focus on climate change UN Photo/Mark Garten
About
Leonardo DiCaprio, an Academy Award®-winning actor, has been an outspoken advocate for environmental issues throughout much of his career. In 1998, at the age of 24, Mr. DiCaprio established his foundation with the mission of protecting the Earth’s last wild places and implementing solutions to build a more harmonious relationship between humanity and the natural world. Through grantmaking, public campaigns, and media projects, Mr. DiCaprio has worked to bring attention and funding to the protection of biodiversity, ocean and forest conservation, and climate change.
The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation supports over 35 innovative conservation projects around the world that protect fragile ecosystems and key species.
Mr. DiCaprio also serves on the board of several environmental protection organizations including the World Wildlife Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Pristine Seas and Oceans 5. He is also an advisor on The Solutions Project, an organization dedicated to scaling up the adoption of clean, renewable energy. In 2014, DiCaprio was honored with the prestigious Clinton Global Citizen Award for his philanthropic work.
The Secretary-General designated Mr. DiCaprio as a Messenger of Peace with a special focus on climate change ahead of the 2014 Climate Summit, aimed at catalyzing and galvanizing climate action towards a global climate agreement in 2015.
Focus Area: Climate Change
Climate change is a critical global challenge with long-term implications for the sustainable development of all countries. On 31 March 2014, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a report saying the effects of climate change have already affected agriculture, human health, and ecosystems on land and in the oceans, water supplies and people’s livelihoods. The United Nations family has continuously taken the lead in taking on climate change. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , Kyoto Protocol or the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, are at the forefront of the effort to save our planet.
