Leonardo DiCaprio is a Hollywood star who once made the world fall in love with ships through Titanic, until it sank. His fascination with the sea hasn’t dimmed over the years; if anything, it has only deepened. Every summer, the A-lister is spotted aboard glittering superyachts that make five-star hotels look modest. Like every love story, this one has a villain. In DiCaprio’s case, it could either be the environment that stands between the climate crusader and his maritime indulgence, or the actor himself, who remains one of the most contradictory climate champions of our time.
The American actor recently recorded and shared a video ahead of COP30, the first global climate summit to be held in the Belém, (Amazon rainforest) in Brazil. The video, created in partnership with Re:wild (part of the Protecting Our Planet Challenge alongside other partners), announced a collective pledge of $500 million toward the Forest Tenure Funders Group to help Indigenous peoples and local communities protect their ancestral lands.
While DiCaprio’s message is undeniably urgent and necessary, his timing couldn’t have been more ironic. Just weeks earlier, the 54-year-old had been photographed aboard Koru, the world’s largest sailing yacht, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The Oscar winner was seen enjoying the Mediterranean summer with Bezos, his wife Lauren Sánchez, and his 27-year-old girlfriend, model Vittoria Ceretti.
So when DiCaprio urged leaders to “unite and meet this moment with courage, ambition, and bold action,” the internet had its own bold reaction; comments poured in, unabashedly. “Leo, are you going to fly to this conference on your private jet?’ ‘Give it up, Leo,’ ‘Talk to your boy Jeff Bezos, and ‘Practice what you preach.’ The backlash wasn’t unwarranted. One cannot profess concern for the planet while cruising on one of the most fuel-hungry pleasure crafts ever built. That kind of duplicity never goes unnoticed.
The Oceanco-built Koru has a fuel capacity of roughly 500,000 liters and a range of about 6,000 nautical miles at 12 knots. Each day of continuous cruising burns close to 24,000 liters of fuel and emits around 63 tons of CO₂, roughly 13 times the average person’s annual carbon footprint in just 24 hours. Even though Koru is sail-assisted, her eco-credibility quickly sinks under the weight of indulgence.
The yacht is trailed by the $75 million support vessel Abeona, which ferries helicopters, jet skis, and luxury tenders, adding substantially to the emissions tally. Moreover, the hotel-like amenities aboard require around-the-clock air-conditioning, stabilization systems, and electrical power, even while anchored. For DiCaprio to participate in this heavy-duty carbon ballet one week, and then call on global leaders to save the planet the next, is bound to invite criticism. It’s not just about what he says, it’s about the stage he chooses to say it from.
