The Oscar-winning actor is hosting an exclusive gala in St. Tropez to raise money to stop global warming — and is asking his celebrity guests to fly halfway around the world to attend.

Many are criticizing DiCaprio’s event, arguing that flying from Los Angeles, where many guests live, to the south of France is not environmentally friendly, as private jets in particular leave a serious carbon footprint.

Hollywood elites including Kate Hudson, Scarlett Johansson, Robert De Niro and Kevin Spacey are expected to be among the 500 guests, alongside wealthy philanthropists and business tycoons.

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Danny Harvey, a professor who specializes in global warming and energy efficiency at the University of Toronto, said that while airplanes can be harmful, the outcome of the fundraiser may be worth traveling to Europe.

“OK, there’s some C02 emissions, but what are the benefits of this one event? Maybe the benefits outweigh it,” Harvey said.

The event — The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Annual Gala To Fund Climate and Biodiversity Projects — reportedly raised US$40 million last year, and this year’s July 20 fundraiser aims to help fund research and project grants for climate change.

The Daily Mail reported that tables at the gala’s dinner range from US$77,000 to US$160,000.

“If (guests) want to have the lowest impact, they should go economy class in a big commercial airline on a non-stop flight,” Harvey said.

“Private jets might be harder to justify, unless everyone is going in the same jet.”

Gideon Forman, a climate change policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation, echoed Harvey’s stance, and said traveling in the day has less impact than flying at night.

“If this is the only way to do it, and this is a crucial climate meeting, that would be some reason to go ahead, because the climate issue is so pressing,” Forman said.

“You can also buy carbon offsets…that’s another thing the participants can do.”