Al Gore’s Climate Chief On Biden’s Record, Nuclear, And What Happens If Trump Wins

In 2006, shortly after the release of his groundbreaking documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” former Vice President Al Gore invited 50 would-be climate activists to his Tennessee barn for a training session on how to raise awareness about the threat fossil fuel emissions pose to the planetary systems and weather conditions humans can withstand.

The Climate Reality Project, Gore’s advocate-training nonprofit, has spent the intermediate 18 years mustering what chief executive Phyllis Cuttino called “an army.” The organization has 100 chapters in 40 U.S. states and 11 countries.

Each of the training sessions so far has been distinct, with teaching materials tailored to the region. Recent events in the U.S., for example, have focused on the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate law President Joe Biden passed in 2022. The most recent training took place in Accra, Ghana, this past November, and trainees joined virtually from Nigeria as part of the organization’s biggest push in oil-rich, fast-growing and already brutally hot West Africa.

Next month, the Climate Reality Project will put on its 55th training event and make its New York City debut. In her only media interview ahead of the event, HuffPost spoke to Cuttino about Republicans’ acceptance of climate change, Biden’s legacy, and the “terrible” reality that could be waiting for us after this year’s election. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Is climate denialism still the primary obstacle to decarbonization? If not, when did that change?

Certainly climate denial still happens. We always study misinformation and disinformation about climate that is focused on encouraging climate denial. But I think we all