Two decades after the release of his landmark documentary *An Inconvenient Truth*, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore reflected on the ongoing challenges and progress in addressing the global climate crisis. Speaking at an event in New York to mark the film’s 20th anniversary, Gore acknowledged the unexpectedly vigorous resistance from the fossil fuel industry and its political allies but expressed optimism about the future of climate action.
Gore, now 78, noted that while scientists’ warnings about climate change have proven accurate—and in some cases underestimated—the resistance he encountered has been more entrenched and persistent than anticipated. He pointed to the fossil fuel industry's influence over governments and international institutions, including the United Nations’ key scientific bodies, referencing recent reports indicating involvement by Saudi oil operatives in shaping major UN climate assessments.
Released in 2006, *An Inconvenient Truth* documented Gore’s efforts to raise awareness of climate change following his 2000 presidential election defeat. Since then, his Climate Reality Project has trained millions of activists worldwide and built a network spanning over 190 countries. Despite these efforts, global warming has accelerated, leading to more frequent and severe events such as record-breaking heatwaves and recent catastrophic glacier collapse on the Nepal-Tibet border.
Gore cautioned that current temperature increases are on track to exceed international targets, potentially triggering irreversible "tipping points" like widespread ice sheet melting and the Amazon rainforest’s transformation into savanna. These developments, he warned, could push the planet toward devastating ecological and societal consequences.
Comparing his climate advocacy efforts to historic social justice movements, Gore emphasized the role of perseverance amid setbacks. He characterized courage not as the absence of fear but as continuing progress despite it. Gore expressed belief that public opinion is nearing a decisive turning point that could make climate action unstoppable.
While acknowledging the world continues its trajectory toward a temperature rise surpassing 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, Gore highlighted the substantial deployment of renewable energy sources. He noted that clean energy is now generally more affordable than fossil fuels, contributing to revised projections that deem worst-case temperature scenarios exceeding 4 degrees Celsius less likely. Nonetheless, he underscored the need for increased financial support for renewable projects in developing countries to sustain this momentum.
“The day is coming when our momentum will overtake the resistance,” Gore said. “We’re getting very close now. I think we are going to win this. The remaining question is whether we will win it in time to avoid those negative tipping points I talked about.”
Gore’s remarks came ahead of a major United Nations climate event led by outgoing Secretary-General António Guterres. Guterres criticized continued expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure as defying science and harming economies, contributing to rising costs and geopolitical instability. He urged countries to accelerate renewable energy adoption, reduce deforestation, and electrify their economies, affirming that renewables have become the cheapest, fastest, and most secure energy source worldwide.
“Clean energy has gone from alternative to unstoppable,” Guterres declared, underscoring the urgent need for scalable climate solutions amid mounting global pressures.