Don Cheadle has been appointed the spokesman for the United Nations environment program.

He was given the job Saturday in Rwanda's capital as a U.N. Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador and said he would fight climate change and promote environment conservation.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner announced the appointment, claiming Cheadle would help raise environmental awareness among millions of people around the world.

Cheadle also donned a baby gorilla Zoya, a name chosen by internet users as a part of a UNEP awareness program.

Cheadle starred in the film “Hotel Rwanda” in 2004 which told the story of Rwandan genocide in 1994 that killed more than half a million people, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Rwandan government, however, remains critical of the film.