Inglorious Basterds star Mélanie Laurent was in Indonesia earlier this month for Greenpeace.
The star joined 50 activists in the Indonesian rainforest calling on world leaders to cut a fifth of global greenhouse emissions. As negotiators meet in Barcelona for the final round of talks before December’s critical UN climate summit in Copenhagen, the activists are tackling climate change at the frontline of rainforest destruction by damming the industrial drainage of carbon-rich peatlands in Indonesia.
Laurent and the activists built a dam across one of the many canals designed to drain the rainforest and peat soils in order to make way for plantations on the Kampar Peninsula on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. This destruction emits huge quantities of CO₂ and means that Indonesia is the world’s third largest climate polluter after China and the US.
“I am really sad to see how this once beautiful forest now more looks like a war zone,” said Laurent. “I am impressed with all of Greenpeace’s efforts here. What makes me more impressed is the spirit, I’ve visited the dam-building activity and see everyone working really hard. But I’ve never seen anyone looking down, everyone was working with passion and the spirit is high.”
To find out more about the Greenpeace Climate Defenders and Mélanie’s work with them, visit their official website.
