Los Angeles (AFP)

Vegetarian gala dinners, recycled formal wear: Hollywood is stepping up its efforts this season to limit the carbon footprint of the Golden Globes, Oscars and other film awards.

While some experts welcome this incentive to fight global warming, others are more skeptical about the example set in this area by the stars and the jet set.

Plants are in fashion this year in Los Angeles, where the organizers of the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Critics' Choice Awards have all served herbal menus rather than the usual steaks.

The Oscars themselves have just announced dishes "made from 70% plants" during the gala evening on February 9.

These "courageous and altruistic" initiatives were praised by longtime vegetarian Joaquin Phoenix who says he was able to eat what he was served at the Golden Globes for the first time in his career, as well as by Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo, all two very involved in the fight against climate change.

The taste qualities may not always have been there, but few guests have complained, or have dared to do so. Comedian Seth Meyers could not help saying that the organizers of the Critics' Choice Awards had done well not to invite their colleagues "food critics" ...

Climatologists and environmental activists applauded, like Brenda Ekwurzel, of the Union of Concerned Scientists group of experts, who deemed this decision "really important" and "very exciting for a climatologist".

Convincing people to change their eating habits is one of the best ways to quickly reduce carbon emissions, she added to AFP.

According to his colleague Peter Kalmus, a vegetable menu served to 1,500 Golden Globes guests would cut the dinner's carbon footprint by ten, the equivalent of 10 to 15 tonnes of CO2.

By way of comparison, an inhabitant of Bangladesh produces an average of about a tonne of CO2 each year.

But a single star championing global warming can have a far greater "snowball effect" with the general public or even politicians, said Kalmus.

- Lead by example -

Some however denounce the hypocrisy of the stars and other professionals of the cinema industry who travel the world to participate in the festivals of Cannes, Venice or Toronto.

"It is problematic to make speeches on the climate emergency if you fly in private jets," admits Peter Kalmus, noting that those who set an example have a much stronger impact.

He quoted Australian actress Yael Stone ("Orange is the New Black"), who just announced that she was ending her career in the United States because she found it "unethical to lead a life in two countries ".

Peter Kalmus estimates that two annual first-class round trips between Australia and the United States release between 12 and 24 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

But "it's not just about preventing planes from emitting" CO2, "putting the planet before one's career" is a much stronger message, says the scientist.

Celebrities could also press for filming, which consumes a lot of energy and is therefore very polluting, to favor renewable energy, cleaner modes of transport and reduce packaging and waste, suggests Ekwurzel. "People who have the means, like those who attend the Golden Globes, are the most likely to reduce their emissions," she told AFP.

"There are thousands of ways to reduce our emissions on an individual basis, but to choose only one and to go up on a platform to say + that is how everyone must do + will not work", estimates the scientist.

However well-intentioned they may be, not all stars can get the message out.

Stylist Stella McCartney was therefore delighted that Joaquin Phoenix decided to wear the same tuxedo designed by him "throughout the price season to reduce waste." But the idea aroused the mockery of the master of ceremonies, the British Ricky Gervais: "It is nothing. I take my socks back and you should see the state of my underwear!"

© 2020 AFP