2021 Annual Report
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A LETTER FROM OUR
FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN
Dear Friends,
If the history of our movement teaches us anything, it is that progress rarely moves in a straight line. Instead, it zigs and zags – at times moving us two steps forward, and at others, leading one step backward. We will only achieve lasting change by refusing to let setbacks turn into defeat. What matters is that we fight on.
After four years playing defense in the U.S. to a hostile administration that did the bidding of the fossil fuel industry, in 2021, a new president and Congress opened the door to renewed climate leadership.
With a new administration in place and a majority (albeit narrow) in Congress favorable to taking action on the climate crisis, the prospect of historic climate legislation beckoned. On the international stage, America’s indispensable leadership was reinvigorated as we reentered the Paris Agreement and increased the ambition of our pledge to reduce emissions, bringing a sense of hope and possibility to COP 26 negotiations.
These developments, of course, coincided with IPCC’s most dire warning yet about the consequences of unabated emissions. Likewise, we faced another year of worsening impacts, as lethal heatwaves, melting glaciers, punishing hurricanes and more continued to wreak havoc around the world.
So, at Climate Reality, we did what we always do. We got to work.
In this report, you’ll learn more about how we rose to meet this critical moment. At Climate Reality, we know that we have all the tools we need to solve the climate crisis in our hands today and that the opportunities to embrace climate action for a better future are everywhere. So, in 2021, we trained nearly 11,000 new Climate Reality Leaders, further expanding our global community of activists working worldwide to solve the climate crisis.
We have mobilized this robust and engaged community to advocate for bold action in as many ways as possible – whether working in their neighborhoods, their businesses, or with their governments.
For some, this meant meeting with local, regional, and national legislators to express support for ambitious climate laws. For others, it meant pushing leaders for bolder commitments at COP 26. Some leaders organized their neighbors to rally to stop fossil fuel projects that threatened their community’s land, air, and water. Others started or became active in sustainability programs at their companies.
Of course, climate progress last year did not move in a straight line. Climate legislation stalled in the U.S. Senate. The final agreement at COP 26 was a big step forward, signaling the beginning of the end of coal, but it was not the breakthrough some had hoped for.
These were setbacks, yes. But defeats, no. We zigged. We zagged. We kept fighting and laid the necessary groundwork for the truly historic progress we’ve seen in the U.S. and in other countries in 2022. What I saw in 2021 was a movement getting stronger and stronger. A movement that I believe can and will stop the rising temperatures that threaten everything we love.
We have work to do, yes. But what an honor and a privilege it is to work alongside friends like you and the activists detailed in this report to take on the greatest challenge of our lifetime and – together – build a future to be proud of.
Al Gore
Founder & Chairman
OUR GOALS
We focus on three strategic goals that enable change through grassroots activists and open the door to a sustainable and just future for all of us.
THE CLIMATE REALITY LEADERSHIP CORPS
The story of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps is the story of an idea that everyday people could lead the fight on climate change and together change the world.
That idea brought some 50 aspiring activists to a Nashville barn back in 2006 to learn the science and strategies former Vice President Al Gore used to inspire millions with the film “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Fifteen years later, the Climate Reality Leadership Corps has become the preeminent climate activist training program. People of all ages and across the globe attend with a burning desire to make a real difference on climate. We give them the tools, training, and network to do it.
2021 was our biggest year yet. With a host of potential policy breakthroughs on the horizon, we held three major online events that together trained a stunning 10,998 new Climate Reality Leaders and built our global community to over 42,000 changemakers from 188 countries.
Represented
Leaders Trained
Climate Reality Leadership Corps total numbers as December 31, 2021.
Climate Justice for All
Now in its second year, Climate Justice for All (CJA) provides financial support and professional assistance to help dynamic community-led organizations tackle environmental justice fights across the US.
In 2021, we expanded the program to offer 10 organizations an average grant of $20,000 each. Critically, these relationships go beyond financial awards, with CJA grantees working with Climate Reality staff and drawing on our wide-ranging resources and expertise to build skills and capacity for success long after the grant ends. Many of our 2020 grantees have also become partners in sessions during Climate Reality Leadership Corps trainings, sharing their firsthand experience and expertise in tackling environmental justice issues and helping new activists prepare for challenges ahead.
In addition, 40% of grantees have used their work with Climate Reality as a springboard to help secure additional funding from other sources to continue their work after our grant ends.
Climate Justice for All - 2021 Grantees
Black Millennials for Flint • Dream in Green • Louisiana League of Conscious Voters • One Love Global • Operation Better Block • Río Grande International Study Center • Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference • The Gullah Geechee Chamber Foundation • The Junction Coalition of Toledo • Uplift
Key Achievements
- The Gullah Geechee Chamber Foundation expanded outreach to underserved coastal communities in South Carolina on climate impacts and trained individuals to successfully advocate for Indigenous and community-based solutions. Grant funds also helped the Foundation share its expertise with other organizations and activists in numerous conferences.
- The Louisiana League of Conscious Voters educated East New Orleans residents on toxic pollution from facilities in their community and how to effectively advocate for cleaner water.
- The Junior Green Corps worked with local teenagers to clean up vacant lots to create urban production gardens in the predominantly Black Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Thanks to their efforts, activists harvested 186 pounds of produce in just six weeks to feed Homewood residents.
Photo: 2021 CJA Grantee One Love Global, through its Freedom Summer Youth Organizing School, hosts an in-person field trip to Moores Park, Michigan to discuss the importance of access to green infrastructure.
US CHAPTERS
Climate Reality chapters act as movement nerve centers for activists across the US, connecting trained Climate Reality Leaders and community advocates in the push for just climate solutions at every level.
What defines a chapter? For starters, local volunteer leadership. Climate Reality Leaders in each chapter identify priority challenges and opportunities and work with other advocates to develop the most effective campaign to achieve their objectives.
At the federal level, chapters also often work in partnership with our central office to help execute larger campaigns throughout the nation, building pressure on Congress from all directions, or joining forces with community organizations of all sizes to expand clean energy solutions across the country.
In addition to our 102 community-based chapters, an additional 25 Campus Corps chapters at colleges and universities are mobilizing and training the next generation of young leaders to raise awareness of the climate crisis and inspire their friends and classmates to act.
Select Chapter Victories in 2021
- Baltimore, Maryland: Chapter members and partners pushed the state legislature to reduce air pollution and replace coal with renewables.
- Rutgers University: Students partnered with a range of student groups to successfully pressure the university to divest from fossil fuels.
- Chicago Metro: Chapter members joined advocates from more than 200 organizations in the Illinois Clean Job Coalition, educating and organizing communities and lobbying their representatives to help successfully pass the historic Climate and Equitable Jobs Act.
Global Shapers
Working in partnership with Climate Reality Board Member Rosamund Zander and the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Community, we train and support the next generation of dynamic young activists to lead the fight for sustainable solutions across the planet.
Through this partnership, 152 Global Shapers from 42 countries successfully trained as Climate Reality Leaders, gaining the skills and an even broader network to turn ideas into reality. Their impact was immediately apparent at COP 26, where over 40 participated as panelists, moderators, keynote speakers, and activists throughout the two-week conference.
In addition, Climate Reality supported Shapers in developing new ideas and launching projects with hubs across the planet in 2021.
Climate Reality's work alongside the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers is made possible by the support and partnership of Climate Reality Board Member Rosamund Zander.
Fighting Fossil Fuels
Developers site petrochemical plants and pipelines in lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color they believe are the path of least resistance. The result: families who never wanted the projects are left to breathe dirty air and drink polluted water while developers rake in the profits.
We aim to change the calculus. In 2021, we joined with community partners to pick a series of symbolic fights in Tennessee, Anishinaabe treaty land in Minnesota, Washington State, and the Ohio River Valley that could highlight the moral stakes and elevate these battles to national attention.
Byhalia Pipeline
Proposed by Plains All American, the 49-mile Byhalia Pipeline would run from Southwest Memphis to an export terminal in Mississippi. Not only would the pipeline cut through historically Black communities like Boxtown in Memphis that were opposed to the project, but it would also cross the Memphis Sand Aquifer that provides fresh water to the city and expose residents to the danger of leaks and contamination.
In response, our Memphis and Nashville chapters joined with the Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP) and other organizations to raise awareness of the threat and rally community opposition. Vice President Gore joined a rally in March, helping bring media attention to the issue in local and national outlets like CNN. After chapter and local activists pressured the city council to reject the project, the developer announced it would cancel the pipeline in May 2021.
Fighting Petrochemicals in the Ohio River Valley
For years, Climate Reality chapters working with the People Over Petro coalition in the Ohio River Valley have fought to educate and organize communities to combat the health threats of natural gas and petrochemical facilities.
These efforts played key roles in two major wins in 2021. First, an investment decision on the PTTGC petrochemical plant proposed for Diles Bottom, Ohio was indefinitely delayed, shelving the project for the foreseeable future. Second, after months of advocates filing comments, attending public meetings, and more, fracking was officially banned in the Delaware River Basin.
Working in tandem with these on-the ground partnerships, our social, email, and other digital outreach raised the alarm on the dangers of petrochemical expansion to our millions of followers and subscribers and helped secure 20,901 signatures on a petition to stop new facilities in the Ohio River Valley.
Climate Reality’s work in the Ohio River Valley is made possible thanks to the support and partnership of the Heinz Endowments.
Appendix: Global Highlights
KEY RESULTS
- 1,622 Trained Climate Reality Leaders.
- Held numerous in-person and online workshops training activists through the Zero Emissions/Omissions campaign to pressure the African Development Bank and other development finance institutions to increase transparency and shift to 100% renewable energy in their power lending portfolios.
KEY RESULTS
- 2,442 Trained Climate Reality Leaders
- Partnered with Sports Environment Alliance to deliver a climate presentation for state government professionals focused on themes of organizational infrastructure for resilience, energy efficiency, and creative adaptation and mitigation.
- Partnered with Melbourne Business School to develop a training for C-Suite executives and senior managers of some of the region’s largest corporations.
- Launched a pilot program training 70 of National Australia Bank’s senior bankers on implications of climate risk and outlining pathways in working their largest-emitting customers to develop or improve their low carbon transition plans.
KEY RESULTS
- 1,724 Trained Climate Reality Leaders
- Ran Virtual Climate Learning Journeys climate education program teaching over 500 participants about the basics of climate change, biodiversity, emissions inventories, and carbon markets as preparation to run programs in their communities.
- Helped organize a seminar “Building Interconnected Solutions” to bring together sub-national governments from 11 states and advance actions on renewable energy and just transition.
- Secured over 3,400 signatures for the branch's Climate Education Manifesto and held meetings to advocate for its recommendations with 12 state governments. Youth Leaders presented the manifesto at COP 26 and legislation based on its recommendations has been introduced in Rio de Janeiro.
KEY RESULTS
- 1,649 Trained Climate Reality Leaders
- Launched the National Climate League standings for 2020, based on community reporting on indicators toward GHG mitigation and sustainability. The downloadable standings have become a critical lobbying tool for activists to move their municipalities to net-zero emissions.
- Organized The Climate Dialogues, with two weeks of 40 cross-sectoral and cross-generational virtual events parallel to COP 26 working mobilizing Quebec to raise climate ambition, and more.
KEY RESULTS
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964 Trained Climate Reality Leaders
- Partner staff worked with Chinese media giant Phoenix TV to broadest the 2020 Climate Forum featuring Vice President Gore, reaching a potential 27 million viewers globally. As of June 2021, a total of 618 pieces of related content have been published.
- Translated and published Climate Reality videos, blogs, and other content to raise awareness of climate solutions for Chinese audiences, drawing nearly 20 million views on TikTok, Kwai, and other social media channels.
- Co-hosted the first China Climate Action Week with Phoenix TV and WWF China to mobilize private sector and individual support for climate action at COP 26.
KEY RESULTS
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3,792 Trained Climate Reality Leaders
- Advised on the draft Kyiv EcoStrategy 2030 and submitted proposals for public consultation and consideration by the Kyiv Parliament.
- Climate Reality Leaders in Poland developed just transition goals and worked to promote them by participating in national and regional parliamentary debates, publishing articles, and partnering with other organizations.
- Collected just transition stories from around the world to showcase at COP 26 and build pressure on world leaders.
- Organized 38 events around COP 26 over the two weeks of the conference, with support from 130 Climate Reality Leaders and attracting such high-profile visitor as Richard Lochhead, Scottish Minister for Just Transition. Following the event, he invited Climate Reality Leader and just transition expert Erik Daljhuisen to join regular discussions on the local just transition process.
KEY RESULTS
- 1,326 Trained Climate Reality Leaders
- Partnered with Jaipur Global Shapers Hub to organize a 21 Days of Green Living Challenge, wherein 231 registrants took nearly 600 sustainable living actions at home.
- Trained nearly 2,600 teachers and 50 school principals on best practices for implementing climate change education within their curriculums and schools.
- Organized a Digital Biodiversity Bootcamp in partnership with the leading environment magazine Sanctuary Asia. 130 entered to learn and share about biodiversity and conservation.
KEY RESULTS
- 1,036 Trained Climate Reality Leaders
- Helped develop the UN Food Systems Summit, along with an independent dialogue as part of the event
- Hosted multiple model and simulated COP 26 programs for 240 college students to prepare a new generation of young leaders to help shape future negotiations.
KEY RESULTS
- 5,644 Trained Climate Reality Leaders
- Worked with media partners Eureka to train journalists to share the truth about climate change and build momentum for solutions, leading to the publication of 36 articles that reached nearly 1 million people.
- Launched Operación COP program to train young activists on the COP process and prepare them to participate in future conferences. The program trained nearly 200 activists from Mexico, Costa Rica, Columbia, and Honduras, and brought 34 youth ambassadors to COP 26 to add their voice to negotiations.
- Worked as a correspondent for two major media outlets in Mexico during COP 26 and held interviews with 11 international outlets focused on the importance of citizen engagement in international decision-making and reaching a potential audience over of 5.9 million people.
KEY RESULTS
- 1,803 Trained Climate Reality Leaders
- Branch staff and Climate Reality Leaders provided recommendations for the latest draft of the NDC that was submitted to the president in February.
- Developed a new youth leadership training program, “Earth As Only Home: TRACking our Carbon Footprints,” with nearly 100 student delegates from all over the country attending and learning about climate education, energy transition, and sustainable urban mobility.
- Provided substantive inputs in the current draft of the Climate Change Commission’s guiding framework for civil society participation in implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and updating the NDC.
- The Youth Cluster of Climate Reality Philippines launched an open letter and media campaign calling out the Philippine government for removing the forestry sector in the NDC.
- Launched "Eleventh Hour," a weekly column in the Manila Bulletin (the nation's second-oldest newspaper) to educate readers on the impacts of climate change and build popular support for action.
- Led an anti-single-use plastic campaign in the Philippines, presenting at global UN forums about the ties between plastic production and climate change and working with the Metro Manila local government units to improve policies and use of plastics.
