Leonardo DiCaprio in The 11th Hour.
Warner Bros Pictures
DiCaprio's documentary The 11th Hour, which explores issues of global warming and climate change, was released in the US on Friday, 17 August .
On hearing about Christian Aid's epic 1,000-mile protest march, DiCaprio, star of The Departed, Blood Diamond and Catch Me If You Can, said: 'I'm very proud to support Christian Aid and Stop Climate Chaos in this effort. These rallies are a critical step in bringing much-needed attention to the damage global warming is doing now to the world's poorest countries.
'As I learnt while making the documentary The 11th Hour, it's going to take all of us to work to curb carbon emissions, so I urge people to register their support and pressure governments to change by going to the Cut the Carbon march.'
The ongoing march kicked off in July in Northern Ireland, and will end in London on 2 October, 2007. Leonardo DiCaprio joins fellow actor Greta Scacchi, alongside singers Lemar and Amy Macdonald, in lending his support to the march, which aims to highlight the impact of global warming and encourage members of the public to make a commitment to reducing their carbon footprint.
Lemar will be appearing at the next rally, taking place in Birmingham on 27 August.
March objectives
A core group of 18 marchers are walking through 70 towns and cities, while 50,000 people are expected to join in on parts of the route.
Paul Brannen, head of campaigns at Christian Aid, said: 'Climate change is the most serious threat to humanity. Poor people in the least developed countries are already dying as a result of floods, droughts and conflict over already scarce resources, such as water, that are becoming scarcer as the planet heats up.
'They need our help to tackle climate change by reducing emissions, through individual action and by putting pressure on the UK government to pursue climate friendly national and international policies.'
Find out more about the Cut the Carbon march at www.christianaid.org.uk/climate
For further press information, contact Gillian Sandford (020 7523 2419, GSandford@christian-aid.org) or Fiona Cowood (020 7523 2058, fionachristianaid@gmail.com)
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
