- Title: GoT's Coster-Waldau says radical change needed to change climate course
- Date: 12th December 2019
- Summary: COPENHAGEN, DENMARK (DECEMBER 5, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DANISH ACTOR AND UNDP GOODWILL AMBASSADOR, NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU, SAYING: "But inequality on a global scale, we have to solve that because you can't ask people to change their ways, to really do something about the whole climate action if all you can think about is 'how do I feed myself, how do I feed m
- Embargoed: 26th December 2019 10:53
- Keywords: Amazon fires Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau UNDP UNDP goodwill ambassador
- Location: COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, VARIOUS LOCATIONS, PERU and LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, VARIOUS LOCATIONS, PERU and LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: Denmark
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA00DB9O7KNH
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART AUDIO AS INCOMING
Game of Thrones star and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau says that if social inequality is not addressed climate change will not be fixed.
Coster-Waldau, 49, who shot to international fame as Jaime Lannister in the HBO series Game of Thrones, travelled to Peru for the United Nations Development Programme in September to learn more about the causes of Amazon rainforest wildfires and its effects on the climate.
He travelled deep into the jungles and met locals, activists, farmers, fishers and conservationists.
"Inequality on a global scale, we have to solve that because you can't ask people to change their ways, to really do something about the whole climate action if all you can think about is 'how do I feed myself, how do I feed my children?' You don't really care if the job that you just might be able to get is polluting the environment, you just have to survive," he said.
About a tenth of the Amazonian rainforest is in Peru and in recent years the occurrence of wildfires has increased. Less rain due to climate change and last year's El Nino weather pattern has made the Amazon drier than usual, scientists have said.
Fire is the second stage in clearing the forest, usually for raising cattle. First, choice woods are cut and sold, then the rest is burned. It is cheap, it is effective, and it is hard to catch those responsible.
Coster-Waldau has been working for UNDP - which provides has provided expert advice, training and grants to developing countries since 2016.
The actor, who received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2018 and 2019, said he had just finished filming the movie "A Taste of Hunger" in his native Denmark in which he plays a Michelin chef.
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