Advertisement
Australia markets closed

  • ALL ORDS

    7,817.40
    -81.50 (-1.03%)
     

  • ASX 200

    7,567.30
    -74.80 (-0.98%)
     

  • AUD/USD

    0.6415
    -0.0011 (-0.17%)
     

  • OIL

    83.97
    +1.24 (+1.50%)
     

  • GOLD

    2,404.10
    +6.10 (+0.25%)
     

  • Bitcoin AUD

    101,140.45
    +5,780.10 (+6.06%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,321.28
    +8.65 (+0.66%)
     

  • AUD/EUR

    0.6025
    -0.0006 (-0.10%)
     

  • AUD/NZD

    1.0885
    +0.0010 (+0.10%)
     

  • NZX 50

    11,796.21
    -39.83 (-0.34%)
     

  • NASDAQ

    17,394.31
    -99.31 (-0.57%)
     

  • FTSE

    7,877.05
    0.00 (0.00%)
     

  • Dow Jones

    37,775.38
    +22.07 (+0.06%)
     

  • DAX

    17,837.40
    +67.38 (+0.38%)
     

  • Hang Seng

    16,236.45
    -149.42 (-0.91%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    37,068.35
    -1,011.35 (-2.66%)
     

Leonardo DiCaprio’s climate change fund pledges $7.4 million to save the Amazon

Anastasia Santoreneos
Updated
Leonardo DiCaprio is pictured in the left corner. He wears black sunglasses and a brown jacket. In the background, the Amazon rainforest is pictured. It is burning, with smoke covering threes.
Leonardo DiCaprio pledges $7.4 million towards the Amazon rainforest. Source: Getty

The world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon rainforest has been burning for the last week, with farmers and cattle ranchers burning the forest to clear land.

Four days ago, actor and climate change activist Leonardo DiCaprio posted the fires to his Instagram account, with the caption, ‘terrifying to think that the Amazon is the largest rainforest on the planet, creating 20% of the earth’s oxygen, basically the lungs of the world, has been on fire and burning for the last 16 days running, with literally NO media coverage whatsoever! Why?’

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leonardo DiCaprio (@leonardodicaprio) on

Since then, DiCaprio posted to Instagram to condemn the deforestation by humans in the Amazon.

ADVERTISEMENT

‘The secret to stopping deforestation in Guatemala? Community’, he said.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leonardo DiCaprio (@leonardodicaprio) on

‘Community-managed forest concessions protect the beauty of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, provide habitat for wildlife like jaguar and scarlet macaw, and create thousands of sustainable jobs for local communities -- all while keeping the healthy forest standing strong.⁣⁣

‘In a nearby region without community management, deforestation runs rampant as illegal logging, drug trafficking, foreign interests, and agricultural and livestock expansion all lead to the decimation of this natural treasure.⁣⁣’

Now, DiCaprio is putting his money where his mouth is, and his climate change initiative, Earth Alliance, is committing US$5 million (AU$7.4 million) towards the preservation of the Amazon rainforest.

Variety reported the organisation’s emergency Amazon Forest Fund is working to support local partners and indigenous communities in their efforts to protect the sensitive habitats within the Amazon.

The funds will be donated to five local organisations: Instituto Associacao Floresta Protegida (Kayapo), Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), Instituto Kabu (Kayapo), Instituto Raoni (Kayapo) and Instituto Socioambiental (ISA).

Make your money work with Yahoo Finance’s daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, news and tech news.