Inconvenient Sequel: Al Gore shows no sign of retreat in climate war

Onstage, in a basement ballroom of the Colorado Convention Centre, in the United States, Al Gore is getting fired up. He’s grey-haired now, a bit thicker around the middle, but the capacity crowd hangs on his every utterance. “Our democracy has been hacked!” the former vice-president declares. “The polluters have found ways to take control of the policy-making process – but the ultimate power still lies with the people!”

At a table in the back of the ballroom, John Cubelic sits forward and nods. He’s travelled from Alabama for this. A 29-year-old former American football player at Auburn University, Cubelic is tan and ripped, with a shaved head and a crisp white shirt. Back home in Birmingham, he’s starting a craft-whiskey distillery – hardly the stereotype of an environmental activist.

But neither are many of the 972 others packed into the Denver ballroom for the kick-off of Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps training – a three-day boot camp for the next generation of warriors in the battle against climate change. Cubelic, like nearly everyone here, believes climate change is the most important issue of his lifetime. His plan is to make the distillery a showcase of sustainability, with recycled water and solar panels, as well as a community hub and engine for green growth in the deeply conservative South. “The conversation where I live,” he says, “is climate change is caused by gay marriage. Or, at best, you’re talking about saving polar bears.”

Back on stage, Gore urges the crowd to channel their passion. “Don’t let it dissipate!” he says. “Remember how much is at stake. Remember how great the opportunities for change really and truly are.”

Gore has been holding events like this for a decade, training more than 11,000 people from 136 countries in how to spread the word about climate change, spar with sceptics, lobby their elected officials and push businesses to become more climate-friendly. His Climate Reality project (motto: “Ordinary people face challenges. Climate Reality Leaders embrace them”) now has branches in Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, India, Indonesia and Mexico. This weekend’s training, the 34th session, is the first since the 2016 election and the second-largest one yet. The events are free; attendees just need to cover their travel and lodging.