Leonardo DiCaprio’s Organization Donating $5 Million to Fight Amazon Fires

BY Todd Neikirk August 26, 2019

Jair Bolsonaro became the President of Brazil on January 1st of this year. The far right-wing leader has drawn criticism around the world for his anti-environmental stance. As Bolsonaro rolls back environmental regulations, illegal fires have been set in the Amazon to speed up deforestation.

During this weekend’s G-7 meetings, the fires were a frequent topic of conversation among world leaders. Now a Hollywood superstar has gotten involved as well as Leonardo DiCaprio’s charity has pledged $5 million towards finding solutions.

The actor’s organization, which was founded in July, is called Earth Alliance. The group which DiCaprio formed with Laurene Powell Jobs and Brian Sheth also includes independent scientists and researchers.

In announcing the donation, the charity wrote, “Earth Alliance has formed an emergency Amazon Forest Fund with $5m to focus critical resources for indigenous communities and other local partners working to protect the biodiversity of the Amazon against the surge of fires.

#EarthAlliance has formed an emergency Amazon Forest Fund with $5m to focus critical resources for indigenous communities and other local partners working to protect the biodiversity of the Amazon against the surge of fires. Learn more & donate: https://t.co/uG2WoEoKqx pic.twitter.com/IbcubQCO4v

— Earth Alliance (@earthalliance) August 25, 2019

G-7 leaders have also announced that they will be contributing money to the cause. French leader Emmanuel Macron said the organization will be contributing $20 million to combat the fires. Macron also noted that United States President Donald Trump skipped the environmental meetings that were held during the G-7 conference.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel explained why the group was becoming involved in the situation, telling reporters, “Of course [this is] Brazilian territory, but we have a question here of the rainforests that is really a global question. The lung of our whole Earth is affected, and so we must find common solutions.”