Al Gore criticised reported Trump plans to withdraw the US from major climate institutions, warning it would weaken science, strain alliances and leave Americans more exposed to climate impacts.
Former US Vice President and climate campaigner Al Gore has sharply criticised the Trump Administration’s reported decision to pull the United States out of key global climate institutions, calling the move a dangerous setback for international cooperation and climate science.
In a statement shared on Facebook, Gore said that for decades scientists and governments have worked together through bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to address what he described as “the most significant challenge of our lifetimes: the climate crisis.”
He warned that withdrawing from these institutions sends “the wrong message” to US allies and leaves Americans more vulnerable to the escalating impacts of climate change at home.
Gore accused the Trump Administration of consistently turning its back on climate action, citing the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, cuts to scientific institutions, restricted access to greenhouse gas emissions data and the rollback of investments in clean energy.
“They’ve done this at the behest of the oil industry,” Gore said, alleging that the policies prioritise billionaire profits while increasing pollution and risks to people in the US and around the world.
According to Gore, stepping away from the IPCC, UNFCCC and other partnerships undermines decades of diplomacy, weakens trust in science and damages global confidence in US leadership.
However, he stressed that global climate action would continue without Washington. “Fortunately, 198 minus one does not equal zero,” Gore said, noting that other countries, along with state and local governments and the private sector, are pressing ahead with clean energy transitions and Paris Agreement targets.
Gore concluded that clean energy is now the most affordable and scalable option for future energy needs and warned that by isolating itself, the United States risks falling behind the rest of the world in the race for a sustainable and secure future.
