2024 Annual Report
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2024 Annual Impact Report
Dear friends,
As we reflect on 2024, it’s hard not to view the year through the lens of the elections that took place around the world and the full-scale assault on climate science and policy that has happened since. In many locations, climate ambition is flagging as the US recklessly withdraws from its commitments.
And still, the public’s awareness and support for climate action is accelerating.
At The Climate Reality Project, we work to produce the political will necessary to drive robust policy change all over the world, despite shifts in the political environment. And while we know we must be nimble in the months ahead, our model remains strong and effective – and a powerful means of driving the change we want to see in this new and challenging environment.
To rebuild and strengthen commitment to climate progress in the US and around the globe, it is imperative that our network of determined and informed climate advocates continues to grow and be supported and activated. When policymakers are backing down, people all over the world must stand up.
Our 2024 Annual Impact Report tells the story of how Climate Reality’s 3.8 million-strong network did exactly that.
We pushed schools and communities to commit to clean energy. We secured state and national policy victories in countries across the globe. We pressured financial institutions to increase funding for climate finance and created a swell of support for strengthening the annual UN climate conference (COP). And so much more!
We are under no illusions about the scale of the challenge we face. The fossil fuel industry and their allies in government are determined to try to slow and attempt to stop the transition to clean energy everywhere.
But market forces and public opinion are on our side, and, with your support, we can make a real difference in the days ahead, even at a time of grave uncertainty.
Thank you for being part of our movement.
Al Gore
Founder and Chairman
Phyllis Cuttino
President and CEO
Expanding and diversifying a global movement
From elections in over 60 countries to a major climate conference in Azerbaijan, 2024 was a year of global conversations and pivotal decisions about the future we want.
Last year, Climate Reality focused on expanding our network of “super activists” to be prepared for whatever outcomes emerged, bringing new voices into the movement: Parents living with petrochemical pollution. Business leaders pursuing sustainable solutions. Local officials seeing the opportunities of clean energy.
People from all walks of life came together to join the Climate Reality Leadership Corps at three major in-person and online trainings in the US and Italy. As a result, thousands more people are equipped to drive real change in their communities, industries, and countries in the critical years ahead.
Visualizing our Global Network
3.8M
network
192
countries and territories
100
US chapters
11
Branches
Climate Reality Leadership Corps Trainings
Who is a Climate Leader
Advocating for climate change curriculum in schools
Minna Xu
"Climate Reality's Leadership Academy has taught me not only how to plan an effective campaign but also how to grow into a passionate and empathetic leader. As a teenager in high school, I was initially worried whether people would take my advocacy efforts seriously. However, the supportive community of changemakers I met during the Leadership Academy gave me confidence, encouragement, and the tools I needed to make a real impact."
Driving municipal and state climate policy in Ohio
Cathy Cowan Becker
“Climate Reality training is fundamental to all my work as a climate advocate, whether working to increase renewable energy or decrease fossil fuels. I have trained or mentored again every two years to keep up with the latest information and new perspectives. I now have a full-time job in climate advocacy, thanks in part to Climate Reality.”
Pushing for national action on climate and health in Japan
Tomoaki Ota
"I am deeply inspired by how other Climate Reality Leaders in Japan are tackling climate change from their own areas of expertise and positions. Their passion and creativity continually motivate me and strengthen my own commitment to raising awareness about the connection between climate change and health as a physician."
Driving toward a strong COP agreement at COP 30 in Brazil
Alice de Moraes Amorim Vogas
"Climate Reality significantly accelerated my connection and networking with the players in the climate movement ecosystem in Brazil."
Driving action through
three global campaigns
Over the course of nearly two decades, your support has helped us train and build a large, global, and wide-ranging network of climate advocates. Combined with the leadership and voice of our founder and chairman, former US Vice President Gore, we’ve become an unstoppable force for driving climate action in countries everywhere.
Recognizing the pivotal need for action this decade, Climate Reality leveraged our unique organizational model, including our 100 US chapters and 11 branches around the world, around three areas critical to solving the climate crisis:
Strengthening international cooperation
Financing a just transition
Reducing Emissions
Stories from across our global network
...In our schools:
In India, the Climate Reality Project India and South Asia's Green Campus Programme works with educational institutions to conserve water and biodiversity, improve energy efficiency, manage waste, and educate about climate change and sustainability. Last year, they trained more than 2,980 teachers and worked with 151 schools to implement local climate solutions. These schools are models of climate action and sustainability, not only cutting emissions on campus but also educating members of the community in how they can reduce emissions too. Since the program’s founding, they’ve prevented 287+ tonnes of waste from going into landfills and installed solar panels at 17 schools.
In the US, the Green Schools Campaign helps young people develop the leadership, advocacy, and grassroots organizing skills to transition their schools to 100% clean energy. This program launched in 2024 with 10 new teams starting local campaigns, and they are already seeing results. In December, the Broward County, Florida Green Schools Campaign team received unanimous support from the Broward County School Board for a resolution supporting a transition to 100% clean energy in their public schools.
...In our communities:
Climate Reality Brazil’s Climate Rights Charters program engages Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian communities in creating a Climate Rights Charter to push for tangible policy outcomes. In two years of the program, the branch has helped 10 communities launch charters outlining their key climate demands. Not only have they used their charters to engage with local officials, but the branch presented demands from the charters at COP 29, amplifying the voices of Brazilians most affected by the climate crisis in key international negotiating spaces.
In the US, after over a year of fierce resistance, community members in Point Township, Pennsylvania defeated a billion-dollar proposal to build a so-called “advanced recycling” plant in their town. This victory owes much to the incredible efforts of our Susquehanna Valley chapter members, who teamed up with local residents and organizations to form Save Our Susquehanna (SOS). The facility would have taken plastic waste and converted it to toxic chemicals, while pumping millions of gallons of water from the Susquehanna River and posing a serious contamination threat.
Spearheaded by chapter chair, Climate Reality Leader, and Green Ring Award winner Dr. Sandy Field, the chapter and the coalition behind SOS were instrumental in mobilizing neighbors to oppose the plant. Energized by the victory, the chapter immediately started sharing what it learned with other communities fighting similar facilities – including with residents of Templeton, Massachusetts, who unanimously voted to oppose waste plastics incineration in the town last December.
...In our cities and states
On February 20, 2024, the city of Chicago made headlines by launching a lawsuit against six of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies, along with the American Petroleum Institute. The lawsuit accuses these fossil fuel giants of conspiring to mislead the public about the dangers of their products and their contributions to climate change.
Behind the scenes, members of Climate Reality’s Chicago Metro Area chapter played a crucial role in laying the groundwork for this lawsuit. Starting in July 2022, inspired by ongoing legal battles across the country, it began to build a compelling case to present to the city's leadership with help from the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI). Building off of their success, the Chicago chapter is now focused on other opportunities to make polluters pay, including advocacy around a potential climate superfund law.
When a ballot initiative was proposed in Washington state that would have effectively repealed the state’s carbon tax and cap and trade program, climate activists immediately stepped into action. For months, Climate Reality’s Washington chapters joined with other climate advocates and organizations in a full court press to stop the measure from passing. They tabled at local fairs and farmers’ markets, distributed informational pamphlets, wrote editorials, and more to raise awareness about the measure. In the end, voters resoundingly rejected it – with more than 60% voting in opposition.
In our national governments:
In South Africa, a years-long struggle over the impact of fossil fuel development on local communities ultimately led to a new climate change bill that will help the country chart a new course for climate action. Organizations and coalitions within South Africa – including the African Climate Reality Project – worked tirelessly for its passage for nearly a decade by meeting with decision-makers, commenting on drafts of the bill, and joining in letters from coalition partners. When the Presidential Climate Commission, an independent body focused on a just transition, was launched in 2020 by South Africa’s president, advocates had a new opportunity to not only shape climate policy but also to position youth voices in formal dialogue with government. In every conversation with decisionmakers, advocates emphasized the importance of a people-centered governmental strategy for approaching climate change and its impacts. With the law now passed, the branch is focused on implementation, including pushing for strong NDC targets and climate funding from public finance institutions.
Electricity rates in the Philippines are among the highest in Southeast Asia largely because of an energy system dependent on importing fossil fuels. Today, that’s beginning to change, thanks in part to efforts from Climate Reality Leaders. The Philippines branch is partnering with the government to help businesses take advantage of the Green Energy Option Program (GEOP) and switch to clean energy. The program is driving significant financial and environmental gains, achieving an impressive 98% retention rate in 2024. With companies benefiting from lower electricity costs and reduced carbon emissions, GEOP is proving to be a game-changer in the country’s transition to clean energy.
THANK YOU
On behalf of former US Vice President Al Gore and everyone at The Climate Reality Project, we extend our gratitude to the generous individuals and organizations who have offered their time and resources to support our work.
To the Climate Reality Leaders and volunteers across our network: Thank you for working alongside Climate Reality to collectively increase our impact and advance climate solutions. Your dedication to a clean energy future makes our work possible.
We also express our sincere thanks to our generous donors, whose support enables us to mobilize our network to raise climate ambition at all levels – even in challenging and uncertain times. We would not be where we are today without your partnership.