Embed Code
2025 Annual Impact Report
2025 Annual Impact Report
Embed Code
Dear friends,
As we reflect on 2025, the challenges the climate movement faced are undeniable.
President Trump delivered on his promise to give the fossil fuel industry everything it wanted – attempting to undermine solar and wind at every turn while trying to supercharge oil, gas, and coal. He gutted the US’s world-class climate science institutions and withdrew the country from the Paris Agreement.
His allies in Congress dismantled the historic investments in clean energy manufacturing and jobs in the Inflation Reduction Act – to the detriment of their own constituents. And the political leadership of the Environmental Protection Agency shamelessly repealed the endangerment finding that enabled federal climate action at scale.
The backsliding has not been contained to the US. Global leaders – some cowed by US bullying – have used geopolitical turmoil as cover to retreat from their climate commitments, willfully ignoring the devastating cost of climate disasters as well as the economic and security benefits of clean energy. The fossil fuel industry has rebranded climate denial as “climate realism” in an attempt to get people to ignore the impacts of this crisis and accept a future that allows them to continue profiting from further destruction.
But despite this dizzying onslaught, the transition to clean energy has proven far more powerful than its opponents.
The fossil industry knows it’s on an inevitable decline. No amount of misinformation or campaign cash can change the fact that clean energy is now among the cheapest forms of electricity around the world – offering people real relief from the cost-of-living crisis and bolstering energy security at a time of massive upheaval and uncertainty in fossil fuel markets.
And the economics alone aren’t driving this progress – people are.
Our 2025 Annual Impact Report tells the story of how Climate Reality’s 4.5 million-strong network continues to advance the clean energy revolution, despite stiff headwinds.
When global ambition faltered, we launched the REALITY® Tour to train “super activists” in countries around the globe who could help power progress. When the White House worked hand in hand with the fossil fuel industry, we brought Climate Changemakers into our organization to deepen our efforts to drive action in US cities and states.
When the Trump Administration declared war on clean energy, our network stood up – speaking out against new fossil projects, pushing the World Bank to continue funding clean energy projects, and pressing national governments to honor their Paris commitments.
As we mark Climate Reality’s 20th year in 2026, we are inspired by the many Climate Reality Leaders and advocates who have been raising awareness and advancing solutions for the past two decades. It’s because of advocates like these, including many of you, that we know we are going to win.
Thank you for fueling these vital, ongoing efforts.
Sincerely,
Al Gore
Founder and Chairman
Phyllis Cuttino
President and CEO
Embed Code
Expanding and Equipping a
Global Movement
For 20 years, Climate Reality’s ambitious mission to recruit, train, and mobilize advocates to meet the moment on climate has been steadfast. But, as the public’s understanding of the crisis has evolved and political and policy challenges have shifted, so have we, with innovative leadership trainings and campaigns that inspire action.
2025 continued this tradition. Ten years after the historic Paris Agreement and against a backdrop of flagging ambition, we wanted to reach around the world to inspire progress. In response, we launched an innovative, multi-layered training series – the REALITY® Tour – to rekindle the fire that brought us Paris and create a new push for global action on the climate crisis.
From France to Fiji, we saw an overwhelming appetite for climate education and action, with the number of applicants exceeding our venue capacity by two to three times for each major training. We met that demand with a connected, multi-stop training tour that spanned continents and formats, from major in-person trainings at global hubs to an online experience that expanded our reach to new audiences.
Registrants for the Online Experience
Thanks to state-of-the-art technology, audience members could hear Vice President Gore deliver his iconic presentation in 12 different languages. Over 100,000 people from 180 different countries registered for our online experience, with more than 90% from the Global South.
While our trainings tour went global, we also reinforced our US network and advocacy with the strategic integration of the nonprofit organization Climate Changemakers in September.
Climate Changemakers was founded with the purpose of activating the large, untapped population of informed, motivated Americans who care deeply about solving the climate crisis but lack an organized way to channel that concern into political pressure.
With the addition of a model that drives solutions-focused campaigns through dynamic weekly co-working action events and user-friendly resources, our network is adding new advocacy muscle and momentum to state and local policy fights in all 50 states.
Embed Code
REALITY® Tour Trainings
Embed Code
Paris, France
March 2025 • Leaders Trained: 780
In 2015, the landmark Paris Agreement galvanized a generation of activists and gave the world hope that we could tackle the climate crisis together.
Ten years later, we returned to the city to launch the REALITY Tour to mobilize a new generation of activists and reaffirm the agreement’s principles and the power of multilateralism. Sessions featured some of the key architects of the Paris Agreement and equipped Climate Reality Leaders to push for ambitious national commitments to turn the promise of Paris into real progress.
Featured Speakers
Anne Hidalgo
Mayor of Paris
Mayor of Paris
Christiana Figueres
Founding Partner, Global Optimism
Founding Partner, Global Optimism
Laurence Tubiana
President and CEO, European Climate Foundation
President and CEO, European Climate Foundation
Camille Étienne
Youth Social and Climate Justice Activist
Youth Social and Climate Justice Activist
Impact Highlights:
▼
Spurring EU climate commitments
Leaders at the training sent hundreds of written letters to members of the European Parliament calling for stronger climate commitments. Then in May 2025, the EU announced that updated climate plans from members put the bloc on track to cut 54% of emissions by 2030 (from 1990 levels).
▼
Adding capacity to local advocacy networks
Newly trained Leaders quickly joined Climate Reality Europe’s new city-based hub program to drive action in their home cities. Now, hubs across Europe are assessing city climate plans and offering practical policy recommendations for how cities can strengthen their commitments.
▼
Driving the global conversation
Taking advantage of the timing 10 years after the Paris Agreement, the training garnered extensive media coverage, from the New York Times to EnergyNews and more, with an estimated reach of more than 100 million people.
Outstanding training! ... I'm leaving full of enthusiasm and energy. I've already started reaching out to connections to launch projects in my region. Thank you for such a rich and powerful program!
- Attendee in Paris, translated from the original French.
In-Person
Distributed Trainings
March – April 2025 • Leaders Trained: 1000+
As part of the REALITY Tour, Climate Reality branches hosted trainings in Brazil, Canada, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, and South Africa.
Each training featured a big-picture session with global perspectives broadcast from Paris alongside local issue content and speakers. These distributed trainings helped attendees deepen their understanding of the latest climate science and solutions and build advocacy skills to advance solutions in their countries.
Featured Speakers
José Luis Samaniego
Undersecretary for Sustainable Development and Circular Economy at SEMARNAT, Mexico
Undersecretary for Sustainable Development and Circular Economy at SEMARNAT, Mexico
Dr. Sivendra Michael
Permanent Secretary for Climate Change and Environment, Fiji
Permanent Secretary for Climate Change and Environment, Fiji
Mitsugi Takenaka
Mayor of Kamishihoro-town, Hokkaido
Mayor of Kamishihoro-town, Hokkaido
Ursula Vidal
Climate Reality Leader and Secretary of Culture for the State of Pará, Brazil
Climate Reality Leader and Secretary of Culture for the State of Pará, Brazil
Impact Highlights:
▼
Expanding an intergenerational climate movement
Over half of participants were aged 30 and under. Many were entirely new to organized climate action.
▼
Recruiting new voices
A major focus of distributed trainings was recruiting and training new Leaders from long underrepresented sectors. At the Bacolod City training in the Philippines, for example, 23% of participants were government officials and staff.
▼
Supporting regional action
Trainings included action opportunities specific to each location. In Cape Town, new Leaders joined a petition urging bold and decisive leadership from the South African government in the wake of the 2024 Climate Change Act.
This training was not only about learning, but about reclaiming our voices, deepening our understanding, and building solidarity across the region... As I left this space, I am reminded of a renewed sense of purpose, tools, knowledge, and an amazing network of fellow leaders ready to act.
- Attendee at the distributed training in Nadi , Fiji
Nairobi, Kenya
June 2025 • Leaders Trained: 532
With many African nations blessed with extraordinary clean energy potential and looking to escape the fossil fuel debt trap, we went to Nairobi to train a community of Leaders and help supercharge energy transition.
With 532 new Leaders from 17 countries in the room – including hundreds of young advocates eager to learn about clean energy and green jobs, climate finance, and the power of agroforestry – the atmosphere was electric and the result was one of the most dynamic trainings yet.
Featured Speakers
Ambassador Ali Mohamed
Kenya's special envoy for Climate Change
Kenya's special envoy for Climate Change
Wanjira Mathai
Managing director for Africa and Global Partnerships at the World Resources Institute (WRI) and daughter of the late Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai
Managing director for Africa and Global Partnerships at the World Resources Institute (WRI) and daughter of the late Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai
Mohamed Adow
Founding director of Power Shift Africa
Founding director of Power Shift Africa
Impact Highlights:
▼
Expanding a diverse and intergenerational movement
The training had one of our largest youth cohorts yet (72% aged 35 and under) and offered content in Kenyan Sign Language to increase accessibility.
▼
Strengthening advocacy networks
In post-training surveys, 99% of participants indicated they made new connections with organizations or fellow advocates, creating lasting networks for sustained climate action.
▼
Catalyzing new projects
After the training, the African Climate Reality Project launched a microgrant program for Leaders in Kenya and South Africa that supported a range of projects leading to 500 Indigenous trees planted and 30 households gaining solar-powered water filtration.
To see so many young changemakers stepping up, ready to lead, ready to shape a more sustainable future, was deeply inspiring. Their voices, their vision, and their unwavering determination remind us that the future of climate leadership is bright.
- Wanjira Mathai, Managing director for Africa and Global Partnerships at the World Resources Institute (WRI) and daughter of the late Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
August 2025 • Leaders Trained: 647
After three COP summits in major petrostates with no appetite for climate action, COP 30 in Belém, Brazil was a chance to begin a new chapter of global climate action.
Climate Reality seized the moment. The REALITY Tour went to Rio in August to rally Brazilian advocates to push for aggressive action and a renewed commitment to multilateral cooperation at COP 30. From Indigenous rights activists to the COP 30 president, speakers addressed the challenges and opportunities of energy transition and the need for Brazil to lead on climate, both at the upcoming convening and far beyond.
Featured Speakers
André Corrêa do Lago
COP 30 President
COP 30 President
Célia Xakriabá
Federal Deputy, Socialismo e Liberdade Party, Minas Gerais; Co-Founder, National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestry
Federal Deputy, Socialismo e Liberdade Party, Minas Gerais; Co-Founder, National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestry
Marcele Oliveira
Presidential Youth Climate Champion, COP 30 Presidency Executive Director, PerifaLab Institute
Presidential Youth Climate Champion, COP 30 Presidency Executive Director, PerifaLab Institute
Marina Silva
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change
Impact Highlights:
▼
Driving the conversation on multilateralism
The training created a crescendo of media attention on multilateralism and the destructive influence of the fossil fuel industry on the COP process. Internal analysis showed 297 media hits reaching more than 146 million people.
▼
Building pressure for climate leadership at COP 30
The COP presidency’s leadership team attended the training – including COP President André Corrêa do Lago himself, who was pressed by Vice President Gore on the mainstage about a fossil fuel phaseout. Attendees built further demand for action by sending more than 600 postcards to the COP president about the need for strong COP outcomes.
▼
Expanding grassroots capacity within highly impacted communities
Through strategic partnerships with grassroots organizations, the training reached beyond traditional environmental networks to recruit 283 attendees from frontline and historically marginalized communities – building advocacy capacity where it's needed most.
I'm leaving here with renewed strength... So much stuck in my throat, waiting to be shouted to the world.
– Attendee in Rio, translated from Brazilian Portuguese.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
October 2025 • Leaders Trained: 445
Toxic air pollution and increasing climate threats like the punishing winter storms known as dzuds have left Mongolians with no question about the dangers of coal power.
The REALITY Tour Ulaanbaatar training tackled the issue of coal head-on, exploring the nation’s abundant clean energy potential, the climate financing necessary to harness it, and the uniquely Mongolian approaches to climate action underway from the capital to nomadic communities in the steppes.
Featured Speakers
Onon Bayasgalan
Chief Sustainability Officer, URECA; Founder, Climate Mongolia
Chief Sustainability Officer, URECA; Founder, Climate Mongolia
Joojin Kim
Chief Executive Officer, Solutions for Our Climate
Chief Executive Officer, Solutions for Our Climate
Oyun Sanjaasuren
Director of External Relations, Green Climate Fund; Chair, Zorig Foundation
Director of External Relations, Green Climate Fund; Chair, Zorig Foundation
Chimguundari Navaan-Yunden
Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mongolia
Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mongolia
Impact Highlights:
▼
Inspiring real-time advocacy
Participants signed a petition to Mongolia's government demanding passage of a Climate Change Law with coal phaseout provisions. As of late April 2026, the law was still before Parliament for a vote.
▼
Strengthening women’s climate leadership
77% of participants were women, demonstrating their leadership in the climate movement.
▼
Building up the climate movement at a strategic moment
Less than a year before the 2026 UN Desertification Conference hosted by Mongolia, we trained Leaders with the advocacy skills to shape the conversation.
It was very effective to select and include people of different ages, experiences, and backgrounds - it was able to inspire and activate others.
- Attendee in Ulaanbaatar, translated from Mongolian
Embed Code
0
local and state climate laws and policies passed.
0
million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions avoided through new policies.
0
of solar panels installed on schools in India.
In a year of record heat and increasing climate disasters, passionate advocates in our network worked to slash emissions and accelerate energy transition worldwide.
With many national governments backtracking on climate commitments – or outright attacking them – we turned to cities and states where dedicated advocates can make an outsized difference and smart policies can help countries make real progress on climate goals.
The result? Twenty-one local and state climate laws and policies passed worldwide, with our Leaders and branches playing vital roles in their victories including:
- Katowice, a city once the heart of the Polish coal sector, joined the Powering Past Coal alliance to give residents the clean air they deserve and expand clean energy, led by a Climate Reality Leader on the city council.
- In Nova Scotia, Canada, Leaders helped pass a municipal action addressing noise at a local coal mine, increasing the pressure on mine operators to close operations.
- California, Illinois, and New York passed policies to boost the clean energy economy, reduce energy costs, promote building electrification, and more.
- In the Philippines, our branch worked with the Department of Energy to help businesses transition to clean energy.
In each of these victories, our Leaders showed up to make a difference. They met with government leaders, wrote letters to the editor, and organized neighbors and friends. They submitted comments on proposed policies and contacted their representatives.
These results show how Climate Reality Leaders can drive forward climate policies at the state and local level to help countries reach their emissions reduction goals by avoiding millions of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
Impact Spotlights:
Slowing fossil fuel expansion in the UK
Advancing clean energy in New York
Embed Code
0
signed a statement supporting climate action.
0
in direct climate finance in 2025 from the World Bank and other MDBs where Climate Reality Leaders had a strong advocacy presence.
In 2025, Climate Reality pushed multilateral development banks (MDBs) and other global finance institutions to shift funds from fossil fuels to clean energy. Our goal is to help nations end debt-driven fossil fuel dependency and ensure that public finance and taxpayer money support a just, renewable energy transition.
To get there, we educate advocates about how the global financial system works and how they can effectively drive change, using both our signature Leadership Corps trainings and targeted climate finance bootcamps, giving Leaders specific tools to join the fight.
EBRD's progress is measured as a percentage of all bank investments. IDB, AfDB, and ADB progress is measured in cumulative amount of climate finance over a set period. ADB's goal is to be met by 2030. EBRD, IDB, and AfDB had 2025 goals and have entered a new commitment period. 2025 data is not publicly available for IDB.
Sources: EBRD green results reporting; AfDB annual report; IDB climate finance databases 2022, 2023, and 2024; ADB climate change overview.
Using their training, hundreds of Climate Reality Leaders joined campaigns in 2025 to hold multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, accountable for their climate commitments and encourage greater ambition.
Their advocacy was effective. Despite pressure from the Trump Administration and other world leaders to change course, the World Bank surpassed its goal of 45% of its annual lending going toward climate projects. Climate Reality Leaders also successfully helped push the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Inter-American Development Bank to reach or exceed their goals of allocating between 40 and 50% of their funding toward climate projects.
World Bank surpassed its goal of 45% of its annual lending going toward climate projects
Impact Spotlights:
Holding the line at the World Bank
Shaping public finance in Europe
Fighting for a just transition in Africa
Embed Code
0
countries supported a roadmap to phaseout fossil fuels.
0
civil society organizations signed a joint statement calling for major COP process changes.
0
new UNFCCC rule asking COP observers and participants to disclose who funds their participation.
Ten years after the Paris Agreement brought the world together around a shared goal to tackle the climate crisis, too few commitments have been met as fossil fuel interests increasingly work to stall progress.
It’s clear that we must strengthen the COP process. Together with Vice President Gore, Climate Reality has been publicly leading the call for a stronger COP process that limits industry conflicts of interest, increases transparency, and ensures civil society has a voice.
Since we began this work, organizations and countries have moved from skepticism to broad acceptance that the COP process needs to change.
In 2025, Climate Reality and our network advanced this effort on multiple fronts: process, policy, and country ambition.
On Process
Climate Reality convened events with the COP presidency, the UNFCCC, negotiators, and leading civil society groups to advance stronger leadership norms for future COPs.
On Policy
Climate Reality and our network pressed the Brazilian COP 30 presidency to take proactive steps to reduce fossil fuel influence at the convening and commit to a fossil fuel phaseout. We sent more than 8,200 physical and digital postcards to the COP president demanding limits on fossil fuel influence and letters to country leadership asking them to keep fossil fuel lobbyists off their delegations. These letters were delivered in person to the youth lead for COP 30 in Rio.
On Country Ambition
Our branches helped shape national commitments through both insider and grassroots tactics. Branches in Indonesia, Brazil, Latin America, Japan, and the Philippines conducted multi-stakeholder NDC consultations that directly shaped their governments' climate commitments. And more than 1,000 advocates joined climate cafés, trainings, and youth programs to build grassroots pressure for stronger climate plans and better outcomes at COP.
Our work continued on the ground at COP 30 in Belém, where over 200 Climate Reality Leaders and branch staff joined Vice President Gore to advance our policy priorities through high-profile media engagements and direct conversations with negotiators. Nearly 30% of Leaders present were part of country delegations, enhancing Climate Reality’s access to decision makers.
Despite the record-breaking presence of fossil fuel lobbyists at COP 30, more than 80 countries supported an effort to create a roadmap and timeline to phase out fossil fuels. While a group of countries largely made up of petrostates blocked the roadmap from the final agreement, the Brazilian COP presidency committed to proceed on a voluntary basis and present a plan at COP 31 – underscoring why COP reform remains essential to delivering stronger outcomes.
Impact Spotlights:
Brazilian communities fighting for their climate rights
Pushing for a strong national climate plan in Mexico
Thank You
The climate crisis demands sustained and collective action across every corner of the world. That action is only possible because of you.
To the Climate Reality Leaders and many volunteers across our network: You carry this work forward with an unwavering commitment. We are in awe of what you do, and we are honored to stand beside you.
To our donors: Your generosity is not simply a financial contribution; it is a statement of belief. Belief that the science matters. That climate leadership matters. Because of your support, we are able to train leaders to press for the bold climate action our planet urgently needs.
The road ahead remains steep. But so does the resolve of this community. Thank you for being part of it.
With gratitude,
