While visiting Haryana, DiCaprio held detailed discussions on several issues like usage of renewable sources of energy, alleviation of poverty, and the impact of climate change across the globe.
Leo participated in a sit-down interview on climate change with the officials from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The idea was to develop a more clear understanding of India’s perspective on the issue. CSE’s director general Sunita Narain stressed on the need for an ambitious but equitable agreement on the issue of climate change.
After the interview, Leonardo DiCaprio visited a Haryana village to see the effect of unseasonal rains. Productive lands were still under water due to extreme rainfall activity around mid-September.
Leo’s visit comes weeks ahead of the historic Paris climate change agreement. The buzz around these talks is so loud that any event or issue even mildly touching climate change gets linked to the Paris talks.
If sources are to be believed, Leo’s visit was a part of an upcoming documentary on climate change. But once again, we can’t help but ask the right questions. How will such visits directly benefit the farmers? How many documentaries do we actually need to bring attention towards the issue of farmer suicides and crop damage? As a gesture, such visits are reassuring, at most. But when it comes to making an impact, and setting effectual change into motion, such ‘glamorized’ visits do little.
(Featured Image Credit: indianexpress.com)