Al Gore And The Climate Reality Project To Host Climate And Environmental Justice Activist Training In Atlanta

Washington, DC (November 21, 2018) – The Climate Reality Project announced today that it will hold the next Climate Reality Leadership Corps activist training in Atlanta, Georgia from March 14-16. 

Applications are now open for the three-day Atlanta Training, which will be Climate Reality’s 40^th major activist training event. In Atlanta, former US Vice President and Climate Reality Chairman Al Gore will join environmental justice movement leaders, faith voices, business visionaries, communications professionals, and world-class scientists to train a new class of activists as Climate Reality Leaders, taking action on the climate crisis, advocating for solutions, and building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive climate movement for all.

In the heart of the Southeast and an important city in the history of the American civil rights movement, Atlanta has a long and proud history of inspiring transformative change. The Atlanta Training aims to write the next chapter in this story, uniting climate activists and social justice leaders in confronting a crisis that all too often hits low-income families and people of color the hardest. Many of these communities already live with fossil fuel pollution poisoning the air they breathe and the water they drink, shrinking life expectancies and endangering their health in every way. Networking sessions at the training will help participants build broad, inclusive, and powerful coalitions to lead on critical climate and social justice issues.

“Too often, the climate crisis inflicts deep and disproportionate burdens on those least responsible for causing it,” said Al Gore. “We will succeed in climate action when we prioritize inclusivity. Climate solutions must be fair and equitable for all people. I am looking forward to joining with others in inspiring community organizers and environmental justice leaders to explore these issues and forge new partnerships to lessen climate impacts on frontline communities. And create jobs by implementing solutions.”

Atlanta has seen the reality of the climate crisis firsthand, from drought-strained water resources to heat waves that threaten the health and quality of life of urban residents, especially vulnerable populations. And rural Georgia has seen devastating impacts as well, most recently form Hurricane Michael, which inflicted nearly $3 billion in damages to Georgia’s agricultural economy.  However, the region offers tremendous reason for hope. With the right programs, developing clean energy – particularly solar – in Georgia can not only help cut costs and pollution for all families, but also create new jobs and help push back against legacies of persistent poverty and exclusion in frontline communities. Meanwhile, with its “Resilient Atlanta: Actions to Ensure an Equitable Future” strategy and recent recognition as a Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge winner, Atlanta is poised to become a true climate leader.

Climate Reality and regional partners welcome anyone to apply to attend the training: community activists working for a fair economy for all; business leaders looking to inspire change in their industry; people of faith embracing stewardship and compassion; parents concerned about fossil fuels harming their family’s health; young people ready to build a fair and inclusive clean energy future; and anyone else who is interested in learning more about the intersection between the climate crisis and social justice – and how to be part of the solution.

Training sessions will help participants develop a greater understanding of climate science and solutions that promote opportunity and equity, gain a greater appreciation for how the climate crisis deepens disparity in our communities, and build and strengthen partnerships with fellow climate and social justice activists. Participants will also learn how to give the presentation made famous by the Oscar-winning film An Inconvenient Truth and seen in the 2017 follow-up film An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. Attendees will explore the latest climate science, breakthroughs in solutions, and communications skills for twenty-first century activism.

The Atlanta training is largely made possible by the generous support of Climate Reality Board Member Rosamund Zander.

Climate Reality has trained more than 17,000 activists from 152 countries. Recent trainings have been held in Los Angeles, California; Berlin, Germany; Mexico City, Mexico; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Greater Seattle, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Shenzhen, China; Manila, Philippines; Miami, Florida; Toronto, Canada; New Delhi, India; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Climate Reality also has 10 global branch offices and local chapters throughout the United States.

To learn more about the Climate Reality Leadership Corps training in Atlanta and to apply before the January 28^th deadline, visit https://www.climaterealityproject.org/training. 

Interested participants can direct questions about the training to [email protected] or 202-567-6800.  

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ABOUT THE CLIMATE REALITY PROJECT   

Founded by Nobel Laureate and former US Vice President Al Gore, The Climate Reality Project is working to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every level of society. With a global movement more than 5 million strong and a grassroots network of trained Climate Reality Leader activists, we are spreading the truth about the climate crisis and building popular support for clean energy solutions. For more information, visit www.climaterealityproject.org or follow us on Twitter at @ClimateReality.