Leonardo DiCaprio Promises to Cease Using Fossil Fuels; Commits to Selling Resource-Related Investments

For someone who has always been very vocal about his aim to turn around climate change and save the world, you'd be surprised to know that actor Leonardo DiCaprio has a lot of investments of fossil fuels.

Weird, right?

Fortunately, the noted environmental activist has recently joined a campaign, along with over 2,000 individuals and 400 institutions, to eliminate his fossil fuel investments via the Divest-Invest Coalition in New York on Tuesday. It has been noted that the sheer number of investors of fossil fuels hold total assets of $2.6 trillion, which is 50 times more than the commitments seen from last year. That being said, more money is flowing into renewable energy and other solutions to help address climate change.

This means that DiCaprio is saying goodbye to fossil fuels and turns to support clean energy instead. According to People, the actor promised not only to divest his charitable funds to the new campaign but his personal wealth as well. "Climate change is severely impacting the health of our planet and all of its inhabitants, and we must transition to a clean energy economy that does not rely on fossil fuels," the 40-year-old actor said.

Reuters noted that there ar different divestment strategies per organization, however, for the coalition, this means that former fossil fuel investors are withdrawing their money from all fossil fuel companies, while others are withdrawing from other firms, beginning with coal or tar sands.

Thomas Van Dyck, SRI Wealth Management Group managing director said that more and more investors want to reduce their carbon footprints, preferring to put their money into clean-growth industries. He said, "That underscores what I see every day as a financial advisor -- that the demand for fossil-free investment products is increasing."

This movement also comes at a good time. Just recently, a papal pronouncement issued by the Pope demanded swift action to save the environment, and institutions are following his cry.

GreenFaith, a US-based interfaith coalition for the environment is among said institutions. Reverend Fletcher Harper, executive director for the coalition said, "The pace of fossil fuel divestment within faith communities worldwide, combined with the growing commitment to investing in clean energy, particularly for the world's poor, show that the world's spiritual and moral leaders grasp the urgency of the climate crisis and are ready to act."

Hopefully, with many people and institutions taking steps to reverse climate change, we still have the chance to save our planet. What do you think about this purposeful divestment?