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As any businessperson will tell you, marketing is vital when selling a product. In this case, the product is a cleaner, healthier planet, though some of its most prolific marketers don’t seem to understand the concept.
Leonardo DiCaprio is one example, as a post in the r/Fauxmoi subreddit pointed out.
“They don’t give a f*** about us or the planet,” a reply post noted, in response to DiCaprio’s trip to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ wedding celebration on San Giorgio Maggiore Island.
According to EnergyWire, Amazon emitted 68.25 million metric tons of CO2 in 2024, a 6% rise over 2023. Worse, Amazon was a co-founder of the Climate Pledge in 2019, aiming for net zero by 2040, with emissions rising extensively post-climate-pledge.
Now, Amazon doesn’t hold a candle to the fossil fuel industry, but it’s a far cry from the 2019 pledge. Digging even deeper, Reveal News reported in 2022 that Amazon was also seriously undercounting its carbon footprint.
Amid Amazon distancing itself from prior commitments, vocal environmentalists like Leonardo DiCaprio were a part of nearly 100 private jets heading to the wedding celebrations.
Private jets emit five to 14 tons of CO2 per passenger, according to the World Economic Forum, more than their commercial flight counterparts and other modes of transportation.
DiCaprio is a public supporter of environmental causes and sits on the board of the World Wildlife Fund. However, the pollution caused by private jet use is simply hard to justify for what amounts to a few hours of celebration.
So, how exactly does everyone else offset the massive carbon footprint created at one wedding ceremony?
Fortunately, there are still plenty of ways people can make a difference, such as cutting back on single-use plastics, supporting local, sustainable businesses, using clean energy alternatives at home, eating less meat, carpooling, and voting/pushing for eco-friendly policies.
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Seeing events like this unfold is disheartening, but it should not be a reason to give up sustainable lifestyles, sharing such tips online to inspire others, or joining community cleanups.
“Anyone attending this s*** is an enemy to the environment and the working class,” was one of several angry responses on Reddit.
“None of them care,” said another, but that doesn’t mean everyone else should follow suit.
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