2018 Annual Report
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OUR MISSION AND GOALS
At The Climate Reality Project, our mission is to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every level of society.
Because today, the truth is clear. Our fossil fuel economy is making the Earth hotter and more dangerous seemingly by the day. Unless we slash emissions by 2030, scientists say we could pass a point of no return and see the crisis become a global catastrophe.
At Climate Reality, we know that if humanity created this crisis, we can solve it too.
Led by former Vice President Al Gore and CEO Ken Berlin, we’re working to do just that, fighting for a just transition to clean energy that will not only help stop climate change, but create a fairer and healthier future for the many.
This is the story of that fight in 2018. It’s a story of everyday people coming together to speak truth to power. It’s a story of the many standing up against the few for a better tomorrow for us all – and winning.
Most of all, it’s a story that was only possible because of friends like you. Thank you.
Our Goals
A LETTER FROM OUR
FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN
Dear Friends,
From deadly heat waves across the planet, to the horrifying fires sweeping through California and nearly a dozen other U.S. states, to the historic droughts and record breaking high temperatures all over the planet — Mother Nature made her voice loud and clear in 2018.
And already this year, the tragic devastation of the Bahamas by deadly Hurricane Dorian, the astonishing new rate of ice-melting in Greenland, the swamping of farmland in the Midwest and more record high temperatures.
When I read the news and talk to people in communities around the world, I can hear that something has changed. I hear a new sense of urgency almost everywhere, and an awareness of the climate crisis as a truly global emergency, at a level I’ve not heard before.
And not a minute too soon. Because we are running out of time to stop this crisis from becoming a catastrophe. According to the world’s leading scientists, we only have a limited window in which to halve global greenhouse gas emissions and transform our energy systems planet-wide.
But as great as our challenge is, we are living in a moment of unprecedented possibility. Because now, the world is waking up. We saw in the US midterm elections that Americans have had enough of climate denial and inaction. Across the Earth, students are striking from school, and more people are marching in the streets and standing up to fight for the sustainable future in our grasp.
More than anything else, this is what gives me hope. When I see thousands of new Climate Reality Leaders jumping into action, or towns and major cities like Denver, Colorado going renewable through our 100% Committed campaign, or the millions tuning in to learn about the crisis during 24 Hours of Reality, I know we can win.
For this, I want to say to you, our friends and supporters, thank you. None of this would be possible without you. The unprecedented support and demand for bold climate action would not be possible if not for your commitment and support. I hope you feel proud. I feel deeply grateful.
Al Gore
Founder & Chairman
Goal 1:
Build a Critical Mass
Climate Reality Leadership Corps
Come as you are. Leave as a world changer.
That’s the promise we made to nearly 3,500 new Climate Reality Leader activists in 2018. They came to our trainings in Mexico City, Berlin, and Los Angeles to spend three days working with Vice President Gore and field-leading scientists, communicators, organizers, and more. They came to learn not just the science behind the climate crisis, but how we can solve it.
Most important, they came to learn what they could do.
They left with the network and know-how to spark change all around the world. In Pennsylvania, new Leaders got to work mobilizing communities to stop the dangerous natural gas buildout spreading across the state. In Mexico and Germany, Leaders began pushing policymakers to increase their Paris Agreement commitments. And that was just for starters.
Leaders trained
represented
Climate Reality CHAPTERS
Winning without the White House
The White House may be working for the fossil fuel industry, but that doesn’t stop Americans from fighting for climate solutions in communities from sea to shining sea.
We created Climate Reality chapters to take this fight forward on two fronts. Our community chapters are a national network of activist epicenters where Climate Reality Leaders work with local leaders to fight the fossil fuel agenda at every turn. Campus chapters rally students to bring practical climate solutions to their colleges and universities.
In 2018, we saw the difference they can make. Activists at nearly 90 chapters stretching from the Pacific Northwest to the Florida Panhandle marched. They gathered signatures. They met with civic, school, and business leaders. They reached out to friends and neighbors. Most important, they kept the movement going, growing, and winning.
Climate Speakers Network
Community voices have a story to tell. We help turn up the volume.
We know the climate crisis affects us all. But all too often, communities outside the green mainstream and those hit hardest by fossil fuel pollution and climate-fueled storms are left out of the conversation on solutions.
The Climate Speakers Network (CSN) aims to change that. Launched in 2015, CSN works to build a more inclusive climate movement where all communities know what the crisis means for them and have a voice in how we solve it.
To do it, CSN trains Latinx, faith, and environmental justice leaders to use the power of their own story to share the reality of the crisis in their community and inspire their friends, colleagues, parishioners, and more to act.
In 2018 Climate Speakers were:
Reducing energy and water footprints of 12 Catholic churches
in Atlanta, Georgia.
Increasing solar energy access in Boston, Massachusetts.
Connecting faith communities to financial assistance for choosing
renewable and off-grid power.
GLOBAL SHAPERS
Creating catalysts for climate action.
Founded by the World Economic Forum, the Global Shapers Community is a network of inspiring young people tackling the great challenges of our time, from food security to energy access to affordable housing for all.
We see Shapers and we see incredible young people with the insight, imagination, and innovative thinking to make a difference. Thanks to the generous support and partnership of Rosamund Zander, we train these world-changers-in-the-making to connect climate issues with key fights like hunger and social justice. We also help Shapers hone their communications and organizing skills to mobilize their communities for climate action and win.
Through these trainings – held at Shaper events around the world – we’re creating catalysts, providing the tools and know-how for these incredible people to spread awareness like wildfire and set examples whole industries and communities follow. Many Shapers then train as Climate Reality Leaders to deepen their understanding of the crisis and build their advocacy and organizing skills even further.
These trainings empower Shapers to bring new focus to sustainability in their businesses, launch major plastic reduction campaigns, start impact investing, rethink clean energy access for off-grid homes, and so much more.
With every Shaper we train, we know it’s the start of something big. And where it ends, that’s a bet we’re not taking.
24 Hours of Reality: Protect Our Planet, Protect Ourselves
Raising the alarm on the climate-health crisis worldwide.
It’s a fact that touches us all. No matter who we are or where we live, nothing matters more than our families and the people we love. And no matter where we live, the climate crisis is putting their health in danger.
But today, it’s a fact too few understand. So on December 3–4, we raised the alarm with the global broadcast event 24 Hours of Reality: Protect Our Planet, Protect Ourselves, hosted by Vice President Gore.
For 24 hours straight, we traveled around the world exploring how the climate crisis is fast becoming one of the greatest health crises we’ve ever seen. We spoke to public health experts and policymakers. We heard from activists on the frontlines of the fight for clean energy solutions. We talked to influencers across the spectrum and heard from today’s most exciting musicians.
Through it all, we reached over 800 million television households and millions more online with the truth of how the climate crisis threatens our health, raising awareness on a global scale.
In addition, after the December 3–4 event, a one-hour special featuring highlights from throughout the broadcast aired in the US on Nat Geo Wild in January 2019, bringing the message to even more.
Branch Locations
AFRICA BRANCH
Johannesburg, South Africa
653 Climate Reality Leaders
KEY INITIATIVES
- - Leading the Action 24 program to strengthen government and public participation in advancing decarbonized sustainable and inclusive development in South Africa, including training government officers and legislators.
- - Building public support for carbon pricing in South Africa.
AUSTRALIA BRANCH
Melbourne, Australia
854 Climate Reality Leaders
KEY INITIATIVES
- - Elevating climate as a national priority issue for all Australians, developing and delivering regional presentations on climate change and solutions for diverse audiences.
- - Partnering with Sustainable Victoria and Plan International to host an event on climate and gender.
BRAZIL BRANCH
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
585 Climate Reality Leaders
KEY INITIATIVES
- - Branch director Alfredo Sirkis spearheaded campaigns pushing Brazil to ratify and implement the Paris Agreement, helping keep the country on track to meet its emissions reduction commitments.
- - Educating presidential and other government candidates on the climate crisis through workshops and other outreach.
- - Launching a campaign engaging 800 students at 40 Rio de Janeiro high schools in climate action.
CANADA BRANCH
Montreal, Canada
905 Climate Reality Leaders
KEY INITIATIVES
- - Launching a Community Climate Hub program mobilizing activists to build public support for renewable energy in 20 municipalities across the country.
- - Thanks to Community Climate Hub activists, Montreal committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2042. Hub activists were also instrumental in Ottawa leading Canada’s efforts to develop the country’s National Climate League metrics for tracking greenhouse gas emissions.
CHINA BRANCH
Shenzen, China
905 Climate Reality Leaders
KEY INITIATIVES
- - Training influencers as Climate Speakers in Shenzen in October.
- - Bringing Climate Reality CEO and President Ken Berlin to judge Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange’s Green Carbon Award.
EUROPE BRANCH
Vienna, Austria
1,579 Climate Reality Leaders
KEY INITIATIVES
- - Engaging new Climate Reality Leaders from the June 2018 Berlin Training in 100% Committed clean energy campaigns, Campus Corps youth outreach, and more.
- - Training activists to speak effectively about the climate crisis and build support for action in advance of the UN’s COP 24 climate conference in Katowice, Poland.
- - Organizing a pre-COP 24 conference entitled, “The Paris Agreement vs. the IPCC 1.5 Report – Are We on Track?”, attended by government and NGO representatives across Europe.
INDIA BRANCH
New Delhi, India
575 Climate Reality Leaders
KEY INITIATIVES
- - Training 462 teachers and 75 school principals to serve as trusted messengers and educators on climate change and sustainable development in their communities.
- - Meeting with industry leaders in six states as part of the Clean Energy Business Promotion Campaign to raise awareness of renewable energy.
- - Planting 51,000 trees to offset carbon emissions.
INDONESIA BRANCH
Jakarta, Indonesia
287 Climate Reality Leaders
KEY INITIATIVES
- - Training students, government officials, and NGO leaders on the climate crisis.
- - Holding a youth leadership camp focused on climate action for 60 young people, featuring a screening of An Inconvenient Sequel and a conversation with the country’s special envoy for climate change.
MEXICO AND LATIN AMERICA BRANCH
Mexico City, Mexico
1,259 Climate Reality Leaders
KEY INITIATIVES
- - Engaging young people in the fight for climate solutions through special youth workshops.
- - Meeting with political figures and candidates (including now President Andrés Manuel López Obrador) to raise awareness of climate solutions.
- - Engaging new Climate Reality Leaders from the 2018 Mexico City training in dynamic campaigns including 100% Committed, Voices for the Climate, and Let’s Talk about Climate.
- - Using popular media to raise awareness.
- - Educating the media on covering the crisis effectively, developing a climate manual for journalists.
- - Bringing climate-focused films to film festivals.
PHILIPPINES BRANCH
Quezon City, Philippines
592 Climate Reality Leaders
KEY INITIATIVES
- - Spearheading a campaign leading to successful introduction of a tax on coal.
- - Reversing government resolutions supporting a new coal-fired power plant on the island of Mindano.
- - Successfully advocating for phasing out dangerous hydrofluorocarbons in the country’s Paris Agreement commitments.
- - Working with the National Youth Commission to educate young people about the crisis.
CLIMATE REALITY
BRANCH
IN FOCUS
Goal 3:
Accelerate the Transition
100% COMMITTED
Because 100 percent renewable is 100 percent doable.
The White House can say what it wants. The shift to renewables is on and accelerating by the day.
Case in point: the growing number of communities in the US and around the world committing to reach 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030. And driving many of them are Climate Reality chapters and activists, working with partners throughout the movement.
At the heart of the 100% Committed campaign is a commitment to empowering regular people to take charge of their energy future. The first step is building broad support for renewables in the community, raising awareness not just of the cost-efficient technologies available but also how leaving fossil fuels behind can create healthy futures for all.
With a coalition of residents behind them, chapters and activists turn that support into pressure on decision-makers at universities, businesses, and city and county municipalities to commit to shifting to 100 percent renewable electricity. And – just as important – to do it through just transition paths that create a future for fossil fuel workers and ensure no community gets left behind.
The good news? It’s working.
and municipalities
100% committed
running campaigns
Pricing Pollution™
We know the fossil fuel economy has a clear system of winners and losers.
On the one side, powerful corporations who pollute the environment and accelerate climate change while making billions. On the other, communities of color and low-income families choking on toxic chemicals from industry pollution. Billions of people living with the reality of growing climate devastation.
How can we change this picture and make energy fair? By putting a market price on carbon pollution and making a just transition to clean energy.
Through our chapters, Pricing Pollution™ works to build support for fair carbon pricing plans that make polluters pay for the damage they do and directly supports affected communities.
In 2018, the campaign targeted state-level decision makers, urging them to implement carbon solutions guided by just transition principles. The campaign worked in seven states and was instrumental in getting a statewide initiative on the ballot in Washington State as well as advancing bills through several state legislatures.
These efforts were critical in educating policymakers and the public on the real benefits of carbon pricing. Equally important, these efforts helped build broad coalitions of allies and partners that will be instrumental in pushing carbon pricing policies over the line in the months and years ahead.
involved with campaigns
BUILDING
COALITIONS
TO WIN
Think global. Start local. For two new initiatives launched in 2018, the
words are more than a tagline – they’re a philosophy of change that works.
FIGHTING PETROCHEMICALS IN THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY
In 2018, with support from the Heinz Foundation, we launched a new effort to organize communities in the Ohio River Valley to fight the dangerous expansion of petrochemical facilities. Through Climate Reality chapters in Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, activists mobilize families to block new ethane cracker plants, fracking pipelines, and other infrastructure that not only dump more carbon pollution into the atmosphere, but fill the air and water with cancer-causing chemicals.
COUNTY CLIMATE COALITION
At the Climate Reality Leadership training in LA in August 2018, we began a partnership with Santa Clara County to launch the County Climate Coalition. The Coalition aims to push county governments from sea to shining sea to make concrete commitments to reducing emissions and helping the US ultimately meet its Paris Agreement goals.
DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS
Making the crisis real with digital outreach.
Back in 2006, the global phenomenon of An Inconvenient Truth began with one simple idea. Make the climate crisis real for regular people – parents, students, workers, and more – and they’ll want to take action.
Twelve years on, this same idea drives an ambitious digital outreach program speaking to audiences around the world about what the crisis means for them. Using wide-ranging content from explainer videos to e-books, we connect climate with the everyday lives of millions and empower them to act.
Through this approach, our digital communications are helping raise awareness, change the cultural conversation, and inspire action across the Earth.
How do we know?
- University classes at Kent State and the Chinese University of Hong Kong use our blogs to teach students about climate denial.
- Teachers at Thornton Junior High School in Fresno, California use Climate Reality materials to educate students about clean energy.
- Publications from the New York Times to Vogue now follow Vice President Gore in speaking of “the climate crisis,” framing the challenge for millions.
- Social audiences are actively engaging with our content, sharing posts with friends, joining the comments conversation, and reacting in the millions.
- Audiences are joining our campaigns to fight the Trump Administration’s fossil fuel agenda, with over 201,000 digital actions in 2018 alone.
FOLLOW US
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
Building a diverse movement to win.
We couldn’t do this important work alone. We join forces with incredible partners from across the US and around the world for our Climate Reality Leadership Corps trainings, Climate Speakers Network events, 24 Hours of Reality, and many other initiatives.
For a list of just some of the great partners helping bring a message of urgency and hope to millions worldwide, please visit our strategic partnerships page.
CONCLUSION
We’re deeply proud of the people, stories, and campaigns in this report. But whatever we do, there’s always going to be one of the most important parts of our work missing.
You.
You make change happen. You make it possible for us to train the incredible Climate Reality Leaders bringing real climate solutions to communities in over 100 countries. You are instrumental in pushing towns, cities, businesses, and schools across the US and around the world to choose 100 percent renewable electricity.
The list only starts there – and so does our gratitude. Thanks to you, the world is moving forward to a clean energy economy and – we believe deeply – will act boldly to meet the 2030 deadline scientists have set. Thanks to you, Americans are pushing back against the Trump Administration’s dangerous fossil fuel agenda at every turn.
Thanks to you, more and more people around the world are standing up to fight for a sustainable future.
This is how change happens. Big, profound change. We’re grateful to have friends like you to make it possible – because we couldn’t do it without you.
Thank you.
Ken Berlin
President & CEO
FINANCIALS
