Leonardo DiCaprio Meeting With President Obama to Talk Climate Change

Science

 | September 27, 2016 | By Sara Wilkins

Leonardo DiCaprio is set to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss the issue of climate change.

The Oscar-winning actor, a passionate advocate for climate change and environmental issues, will talk about the importance of protecting the planet for future generations with Obama at the inaugural South by South Lawn event on October 3.

The festival, a play on the South by Southwest Festival in Texas, will be an event full of “ideas, art and action,” and will be hosted by the President and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House in Washington, D.C.

The conversation between Obama and DiCaprio will also include climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, and will be followed by a screening of DiCaprio’s National Geographic documentary Before the Flood, which will make its U.S. debut at the festival.

Directed by Fisher Stevens, the film chronicles The Wolf of Wall Street star’s campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of climate change as a UN Ambassador of Peace.

Looking forward to sitting down with @BarackObama and Dr. Katharine Hayhoe for a discussion on #climatechange at @SXSW's South By South Lawn. #Regram #RG @whitehouse: Exciting news: President Obama will be joined by @leonardodicaprio for a conversation on combating climate change at South By South Lawn. Get the details at wh.gov/SXSL. #SXSL

A photo posted by Leonardo DiCaprio (@leonardodicaprio) on Sep 25, 2016 at 3:34pm PDT

“Looking forward to sitting down with @BarackObama and Dr. Katharine Hayhoe for a discussion on #climatechange at @SXSW’s South By South Lawn,” DiCaprio captioned a shot of him standing alongside Obama on Instagram.

The actor also talked about the importance of climate change during his Oscar’s acceptance speech earlier this year, after nabbing the Best Actor statuette for his role in The Revenant.

“Climate change is real. It is happening right now,” he said. “It’s the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.

“We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters or the big corporations, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people who will be most affected by this.”