“The current environmental crisis is the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced,” said Al Gore, former U.S. Vice President and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, at the 56th Climate Reality Leadership Training held in Rome from 28 to 30 June 2024. The programme—designed by Gore and run by The Climate Reality Project, his global non-profit—aims to mobilise individuals and institutions to confront the climate crisis. It does so by training climate leaders who work locally to drive the transition to renewable energy, cut emissions and push for ambitious, science-based policies.
The three-day event featured a full agenda of plenaries, workshops and networking on adaptation, urban and agricultural resilience, the energy transition, and tools to expose greenwashing. Free and open to the public, it offered sessions in Italian and English with simultaneous interpretation.
More than 1,000 participants, mostly from Southern Europe, took part to expand the European network of Climate Reality Leaders and strengthen transnational cooperation on climate action. Among the Italian organisations involved was Marevivo, for which the training was an opportunity to further bolster its climate advocacy. The Rome sessions also highlighted how tightly nature protection, politics and the economy are intertwined.
Throughout the training, Gore and the Climate Reality team underscored clear priorities: rapid emissions cuts, financing a just transition, calling out greenwashing, and stronger international cooperation. They also spoke to the Italian context and the need to align infrastructure and investment with EU climate goals. This edition focused on climate change in Europe—and especially the Mediterranean—and Rome was a deliberate choice.
Gore was blunt on fossil-fuel infrastructure, criticising the rush to build new gas pipelines that “threaten humanity’s future.” He also challenged transport policy: “Italy and Germany voted against ending the production of internal-combustion cars from 2035, citing ‘technology neutrality’. It’s a loophole—don’t let your guard down.” In his view, oil majors are “the most powerful lobby of all time” and a key obstacle to an ecological transition that is already technically feasible. He cautioned against CO₂ capture and storage as a licence for business as usual. “The technological solutions exist—we need the will to act.”
Closing with a call to action, Gore asked: “Can climate leaders make a difference in Italy? I say yes. Unite your voices, speak truth to power, choose—and vote. The future depends on you.”
