A former Vice President of the United States, Albert Arnold Gore Jr’s (Al Gore’s) name is synonymous with environmental advocacy. He served under Bill Clinton from 1993 to 2001 and played a major role in climate action over the years despite no longer serving at the head of the table. Since he first entered congress, Gore has expressed a relentless effort to have a meaningful impact on the world through environmental sustainability and social socials—he spearheaded initiatives that raised awareness and many failed to match the scale of his efforts.
Gore paid close attention to the conditions of climate change early on in his political career, which was influenced by his college professor Roger Revelle—a pioneer in climate change research. Gore was one of the few to recognise the issue earlier on in US history, which made him a primary advocate for the cause, and a catalyst for nationwide change.
His role in policy led him to influence the world. In the 90s, Gore played a critical role in an internal treaty known to everyone as the Kyoto Protocol—an initiative to formalise carbon reduction efforts.
In 1992, Gore led the charge for the US Senate delegation to the UN Conference on Environment and Development, which is also known as the Rio ‘Earth Summit’. The conference was the place of birth for a key event known as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
A very active person in this space, Gore’s most important contribution took place via the media. A documentary in 2006 called “An Inconvenient Truth” was a groundbreaking effort in which himself and the team brough climate consciousness to the US—not to mention winning an Academy Award and building a case for global warming as a necessity.
Hands-on commercial and sustainable action
One of his core messages sums up his sentiments towards the global climate crisis, representing his forward-looking approach to sustainability.
“The climate crisis offers us the chance to experience what very few generations in history have had the privilege of knowing: a generational mission.”
Alongside his public appearance and advocacy out in the open, Gore co-founded Generation Investment Management, which had a profound impact on the world of finance. As investment takes a sustainability-driven approach—encouraging traceability and action in order to fund growth—Gore’s efforts drove this back in the day, implementing ESG as a key factor of investment decisions.
From an educational perspective, the Climate Reality Project is one founded by the former Vice President, which was built to train activists across the globe and spread awareness of the climate situation. Under Gore’s leadership, the project delivered training to thousands of climate leaders in more than 100 countries with great potential to educate the next generation of leaders.
Prolonged climate advocacy post-presidency
The end of his term came, yet Gore still continued his reign as an environmental advocate. As Chairman of the Climate Reality Project, he trained tens of thousands of committed individuals to become activists—evangelists of the climate message.
He is also the Co-Founder of Climate TRACE, which hosts a group of scientists working with artificial intelligence, as well as industry analysts, looking to generate an impact through greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement.
Rather than simply spreading the message, Al Gore was, and is, a man of action. Founding numerous initiatives to reduce our impact on the planet, he sets the standard for US presidencies (and vice-presidencies) to showcase the impact that one man can have. Understanding the significance of presidential influence, he has built a platform for further action in the future.
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