THE CLIMATE REALITY PROJECT AND FORMER VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE TO HOLD CLIMATE REALITY LEADERSHIP CORPS ACTIVIST TRAINING IN HOUSTON IN AUGUST

Washington, DC (July 6, 2016) — The Climate Reality Project announced that the application period is now open for the 33rd Climate Reality Leadership Corps training, which will be held in Houston, Texas from August 16-18. At the same time Texas – and Houston in particular – has become synonymous with the oil industry for many, the state has emerged as a leader in clean energy solutions to the climate crisis, building a strong wind power sector employing thousands of Texans and deploying more wind power than any other state. The training will explore these exciting developments and practical solutions to climate change, while developing a new generation of activists to mobilize community support for clean energy and other pro-climate policies.

Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States and chairman of The Climate Reality Project, will lead the Houston training for hundreds of new Climate Reality Leaders. Climate Reality Leaders will emerge from the training equipped with the knowledge and tools to build public awareness about global climate challenges and solutions, and offer public support for leaders at all levels who are working to implement climate action. The training will also highlight issues specific to the region, including the regional energy landscape, local impacts of extreme weather, and the implications of climate change on the state’s large Hispanic population.

“The Paris Agreement created a historic framework for a global transition to clean energy, but now it’s up to us, the people, to take the practical steps to make it a reality,” said Climate Reality President and CEO Ken Berlin. “This means ensuring our leaders live up to the US’s commitment under the agreement. As a Climate Reality Leader, you’ll learn to turn awareness into much-needed action, and we look forward to training hundreds of new leaders in Houston to take on this global crisis with urgency and passion.”

The fossil fuel industry that provides thousands of jobs to the region is also an enormous contributor to the carbon pollution that causes climate change. In turn, the state of Texas is increasingly suffering the impacts of climate change in the form of droughts, excessive heat, hurricanes, rising sea levels and historic flooding – as Houston recently experienced.

But Houston has also become an important symbol of how fossil fuel economies can diversify by pioneering innovative clean energy solutions. Houston has become a global hub for wind energy, and Texas is leading the nation in the number of wind jobs, the percentage of electricity derived from wind in a large state, and wind energy capacity. Solar energy continues to be of increasing importance in Texas as well, and the state is already well on its way to meeting its targets under the Clean Power Plan.

The Climate Reality Project has trained thousands of Climate Reality Leaders from more than 130 countries, with recent trainings held in Shenzhen, Manila, Miami, Toronto, New Delhi, and Rio de Janeiro.

Apply before July 22 at www.climaterealityproject.org/training

Contact:
Hayley Moller
press@climatereality.com
202-481-8746