Twenty years ago, after the release of “An Inconvenient Truth,” I invited 50 people to gather on my family farm outside Nashville, Tennessee. We came together, empowered by science and concerned about the dangers posed by the climate crisis. We believed then, as I do now, that informed and determined citizens can help drive the transformative solutions our planet urgently needs. That gathering was the catalyst for The Climate Reality Project. Over the past two decades, I have watched with deep gratitude as thousands of Climate Reality Leaders stepped forward to become champions for science-based solutions, inspiring others and driving climate action around the world. Now, 20 years later, we’re returning to Nashville, Tennessee. On May 1–2, I invite you to join me and Climate Reality as we celebrate this milestone and recommit ourselves to the necessary work ahead. And as part of this anniversary year, we’ll also gather and train leaders in Chile and Singapore to continue building momentum worldwide. The climate crisis demands courage and commitment. Join us in Nashville and help shape the next chapter of climate leadership. Register here: bit.ly/nashville2026

The Trump Administration is once again trying to deny science and reality – this time, by throwing out the well-established research connecting the climate crisis to public health. While the Trump Administration can try to ignore the climate crisis, it’s painfully clear that the climate crisis will not ignore us. Last summer, the US experienced a dozen once-in-1,000-year floods in the span of just three days. In Texas, one of those flooding events killed at least 135 people, including 37 children at summer camp. The Trump Administration’s rollback of the endangerment finding is not only a direct assault on science, knowledge, and public health, it is an insult to the people across the country who are already coping with the disastrous consequences of climate-driven extreme weather events. The decision to revoke the endangerment finding is one of the more egregious examples of the Trump Administration prioritizing fossil fuel profits over American lives.

For decades, the world’s scientists and governments have worked together to tackle the most significant challenge of our lifetimes: the climate crisis. The ongoing work of the IPCC, UNFCCC, and other global institutions remains essential to safeguarding humanity’s future. The Trump Administration's decision to remove the United States from these vital organizations sends the wrong message to our allies abroad and fails to protect Americans from increasingly dangerous impacts of the climate crisis at home. The Trump Administration has been turning its back on the climate crisis since day one, removing the United States from the Paris Agreement, dismantling America’s scientific infrastructure, curbing access to greenhouse gas emissions data, and ending essential investments in the clean energy transition. They've done this at the behest of the oil industry, so that billionaires can rake in even more money while polluting our planet and endangering people in America and around the world. By withdrawing from the IPCC, UNFCCC, and the other vital international partnerships, the Trump Administration is undoing decades of hard-won diplomacy, attempting to undermine climate science, and sowing distrust around the world. Fortunately, 198 minus one does not equal zero. While the U.S. federal government sits on the sidelines, world leaders, local and state governments, and the private sector will continue to move forward with the clean energy transition and uphold the goals set forth in the Paris Agreement because it is in their best interest to do so. Clean energy remains the most affordable, scalable, and sustainable solution to meet the energy demands of the future and with this reckless decision the United States will only be left behind.

One of the most innovative outcomes of COP30 was the Global Ethical Stocktake, led by @MarinaSilva. I had an incredibly moving conversation about this effort with GES regional leaders @KarennaGore and @MathaiWanjira hosted by @TED. You can watch it here: ted.com/talks/al_gore_wanjir…

Petrostates and their political allies are doing everything they can to try to stop the world from making progress on solving the climate crisis. They fiercely opposed what would have been the most important step forward at COP30: the development of a roadmap away from fossil fuels, wanting nothing more than for the world to kick the oil can down the road. When it comes to global climate action, the COP30 consensus is the floor – the bare minimum of what the world must do – not the ceiling that limits what is possible. Despite petrostates’ attempt to veto the development of a roadmap away from fossil fuels, the Brazilian COP30 Presidency will lead an effort to develop this roadmap, bolstered by the more than 80 countries that already support the effort. Ultimately, petrostates, the fossil fuel industry, and their allies are losing power. Just as we have passed Peak Trump, I believe we have also passed Peak Petrostate. They may be able to veto diplomatic language, but they can’t veto real-world action. Countries, companies, cities, and states worldwide are moving forward to adopt the clean energy solutions that will create jobs, grow economies, and prevent the health catastrophes associated with burning fossil fuels. The rest of the world is fed up with delay and denial. Now is the time to forge global partnerships among all levels of government, the private sector, finance, and civil society to cultivate and achieve the level of action necessary to fulfill the promise the world made to future generations under the Paris Agreement.

There is huge momentum to develop a roadmap for the transition away from fossil fuels. Agreeing to create this roadmap would make COP30 a major success for the world and the leadership of President Lula. But Saudi Arabia is demanding that it be vetoed. The rest of the world must stand up to the obscene greed and recklessness of those who want to continue to profit from the primary cause of the climate crisis.

Today, we lost a giant in the struggle for a better future, Jane Goodall. I deeply admired her advocacy for our natural world, which was both fearless and tireless. Her groundbreaking research helped increase humanity’s understanding of and respect for the animal kingdom and our natural world — and our understanding of ourselves. Jane could command a room with her wisdom and inspire a global movement with her compassion. I am proud to have called her a friend and will miss her terribly. May she rest in peace and may we all strive to continue her important work.