>>> SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THERE ARE THREE BUCKETS OF
STUFF. >> RIGHT.
IS ONE OF THEM CLIMATE? >> YES.
ONE OF THEM IS CLIMATE. ONE OF THEM IS SORT BROADLY HOW
POLITICS ARE DIFFERENT NOW THAN THEY WERE, SAY, 15 YEARS AGO.
CITIZENS UNITED. I'M INTERESTED TO HEAR YOUR
THOUGHTS ON THAT. AND SOME 2016 STUFF.
>> OKAY. >> YOU CAN DECLINE.
I KNOW YOU'RE -- >> I'M NOT GOING TO COMMIT NEWS.
>> BUT I'LL TRY AND GET YOU TOO. >> WE'RE TALK ABOUT CLIMATE.
>> I GOT TO FEED THE BEAST, MR. VICE PRESIDENT.
>> THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT FEEDING THE BEAST AND TOPICS OF
AN INTERVIEW I WAS GETTING READY TO DO FIVE YEARS AGO MADE IT
INTO HIS NEW MOVIE, "AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO
POWER." THIS WEEK I GOT TO TALK WITH AL
GORE AGAIN ABOUT THE REALITIES AND THE POLITICS OF CLIMATE
CHANGE AND WHY HE'S HOPEFUL ABOUT POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO THE
CRISIS LIKE INVESTMENT IN RENEWABLE ENERGY.
>> THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOLAR ELECTRICITY, UNSUBSIDIZED, BEING
MORE EXPENSIVE THAN FOSSIL FUEL ELECTRICITY AND LESS EXPENSIVE
IS NOT A TRIVIAL DIFFERENCE. IT'S LIKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
33 DEGREES AND 32 DEGREES. THAT'S A DIFFERENCE OF MORE THAN
1 DEGREE. IT'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ICE
AND WATER. IN MARKETS, THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THE NEW ALTERNATIVES BEING MORE EXPENSIVE AND CHEAPER
THAN EXISTING ENERGY IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARKETS THAT
ARE FROZEN UP AND MARKETS WHERE THERE ARE LIQUID FLOWS OF
INVESTMENTS. FOR THE LAST SEVEN YEARS, CHRIS,
ON A GLOBAL BASIS, THE INVESTMENTS IN NEW GENERATING
CAPACITY FROM RENEWABLES HAVE FAR OUTSTRIPPED THE INVESTMENTS
IN FOSSIL ENERGY. IN THIS COUNTRY LAST YEAR, 75%
OF ALL NEW ELECTRICITY GENERATION CAME FROM SOLAR AND
WIND AND VIRTUALLY NONE FROM COAL.
THE BALANCE WAS FROM GAS. >> THAT BRINGS ME TO THE CENTRAL
ISSUE HERE, WHICH IS POLITICS, RIGHT?
THE TECHNOLOGY IS GOING IN CERTAIN WAYS, BUT THE MECHANISMS
ARE ALL -- THE FORCING MECHANISMS ARE ALL ABOUT
POLITICS. THEY'RE ABOUT GLOBAL POLITICS
AND DOMESTIC POLITICS. SO I WANT TO ASK ABOUT, THERE'S
A MOMENT IN THE FILM WHERE YOU TALK ABOUT THAT 2000 ELECTION.
IT MADE ME THINK ABOUT THESE TERMS MORE STARKLY THAN I HAVE
BEFORE. KYOTO, THE U.S. WAS GOING TO BE
A PARTY TO KYOTO, THEN THIS VERY CLOSE ELECTION IN WHICH OF
DEMOCRAT WINS MORE VOTES IN THE POPULAR ELECTION, DOES NOT
BECOME THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, THE REPUBLICAN
GETS IN, PULLS OUT OF AN INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE TREATY.
WE HAVE LITERALLY RECREATED THAT, 16 YEARS LATER.
AND AT BOTH POINTS, I MEAN, THAT WAS A BIG MOMENT, A FORK IN THE
ROAD FOR THE COUNTRY. WHY DID IT HAPPEN AGAIN, I GUESS
IS MY QUESTION. >> WELL, I DON'T THINK VERY MANY
PEOPLE VOTED FOR TRUMP ON THE BASIS OF THE CLIMATE ISSUE.
ACTUALLY A PLURALITY OF HIS VOTERS WANTED US TO STAY IN
PARIS. I MAJORITY OF REPUBLICAN VOTERS,
TWO-THIRDS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
>> BUT THAT, WHAT IS KEY ABOUT THAT, RIGHT, IS THAT THAT
PREFERENCE WASN'T STRONG ENOUGH TO OVERRIDE OTHER THINGS IN THE
FATE OF THIS ISSUE. >> THAT'S RIGHT.
BUT ANOTHER BIG CHANGE IN THE LAST DECADE, IN ADDITION TO THE
TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS MAKING CLEAN ENERGY AND
SUSTAINABILITY FAR MORE AFFORDABLE, THE CLIMATE-RELATED
EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS HAVE BECOME FAR MORE SERIOUS, FAR
MORE DESTRUCTIVE, FAR MORE COMMON.
>> AND EVIDENT. >> AND EVIDENT.
YESTERDAY IN MIAMI, SEVEN INCHES OF RAIN IN TWO HOURS.
WE'RE SEEING THESE RAIN BOMBS NOW ON A REGULAR BASIS BECAUSE
THE WATER CYCLE IS BEING BEING DISRUPTED BY 90% OF THE GLOBAL
WARMING HEAT GOING INTO THE OCEANS AND EVAPORATING MORE
MOISTURE, WHICH COMES OVER THE LAND AND CAUSES THESE EXTREME
EVENTS. AND THE ICE IS MELTING AND
RAISING SEA LEVEL AND THE TROPICAL DISEASES ARE MOVING
NORTHWARD AND THE DROUGHTS ARE DEEPER, AND YOU KNOW THE WHOLE
STORY. SO PEOPLE ARE FEELING THIS NOW.
AND IN POLITICS AND IN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, THE PATTERN WE WERE
TALKING ABOUT IN TECHNOLOGY ALSO IS SOMETIMES EVIDENT THERE.
I'LL GIVE YOU A QUICK EXAMPLE. YOU COULD TAKE THE CIVIL RIGHTS
MOVEMENT, ABOLITION, WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE.
IN THE ANTIAPARTHEID MOVEMENT, NELSON MANDELA ONCE SAID, IT'S
ALWAYS IMPOSSIBLE UNTIL IT'S DONE.
TAKE THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT. IF SOMEONE HAD TOLD ME FIVE
YEARS AGO THAT IN 2017, GAY MARRIAGE WOULD BE LEGAL IN ALL
50 STATES, ACCEPTED AND HONORED AND CELEBRATED BY TWO-THIRDS OF
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, I WOULD HAVE SAID, WELL, I SURE HOPE SO
BUT THAT'S WILDLY UNREALISTIC AND NAIVE.
BUT IT HAPPENED, BECAUSE THE STRAW MEN WERE PUSHED ASIDE, AND
PEOPLE FINALLY FOCUSED ON THE CENTRAL CHOICE BETWEEN WHAT'S
RIGHT AND WHAT'S WRONG. THAT'S THE POINT WE'RE AT WITH
THE CLIMATE MOVEMENT. >> IT'S FASCINATING YOU SAY
THAT, BECAUSE THERE IS A THEORY ABOUT THE RESISTANCE WE'VE HAD.
CLIMATE WITH A CULTURE WAR ISSUE.
WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IT AND THE OPPOSITION TO IT, THE
OPPOSITION IS IN A VERY CULTURAL WAY, IT'S WHY YOU'VE BECOME THIS
BETE NOIR FOR OPPONENTS OF IT. THEY'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT
SCIENCE, THEY'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT APPROACHES TO RISK.
IT'S ABOUT "THOSE LIBERALS" WHAT WANT TO TELL YOU WHAT TO DO, WHO
ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF SOCIAL BAGGAGE THAT YOU
SHOULDN'T LIKE. I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, THAT
DEFINES ALL OUR POLITICS BUT NOWHERE IS IT STRONGER AND MORE
HARD TO DEFEAT BECAUSE YOU NEED TO MOTIVATE PEOPLE TO DO STUFF
THAT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO DO. >> THERE'S AN OLD SAYING IN
TENNESSEE WHERE I GREW UP THAT IF YOU SEE A TURTLE ON TOP OF A
FENCE POST, YOU CAN BE PRETTY SURE IT DIDN'T GET THERE BY
ITSELF. WHEN WE SEE THE UNITED STATES AS
THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WITH THESE PERSISTENT LEVELS OF
DENIAL, AMONG SHRINKING MINORITY BUT STILL THERE, YOU
CAN BE SURE IT DIDN'T GET THERE BY ITSELF.
THE CARBON POLLUTERS TOOK THEIR PLAYBOOK FROM THE TOBACCO
INDUSTRY, WHO HIRED ACTORS TO PLAY DOCTORS AND PUT THEM ON
CAMERA TO REASSURE PEOPLE THERE WERE NO RISKS TO SMOKING
CIGARETTES. 100 MILLION PEOPLE DIED IN THE
INTERIM BEFORE POLICIES WERE FINALLY CHANGED.
THEY'VE HIRED THE SAME PR FIRMS. IT'S DEEPLY UNETHICAL.
THE GOOD NEWS IS PEOPLE ARE BEGINNING TO SEE THROUGH THAT.
SO THIS CULTURE WAR YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, IF YOU PUT IT IN
THE LARGER CONTEXT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TO PEOPLE'S WAGES, AND
TO THEIR LIVES, WE'RE SEEING HUGE CHANGES IN THE GLOBAL
ECONOMY AND IN THE AMERICAN ECONOMY.
WAGES HAVE STAGNATED FOR MIDDLE INCOME FAMILIES FOR DECADES NOW.
AND THERE IS A LOT OF UNDERSTANDABLE UNREST.
AND ELITES WERE SLOW TO RECOGNIZE IT BECAUSE THE
INCREASING INEQUALITY KEPT THE ELITE INCOMES GOING UP.
MEANWHILE, HYPERGLOBALIZATION FLUNG JOBS TO LOW-WAGE VENUES.
AUTOMATION STARTED HOLLOWING OUT A LOT OF JOBS IN RETAIL, FOR
EXAMPLE. AND SO PEOPLE BEGAN TO QUESTION
THE RELIABILITY OF EXPERTS WHO HAD CHARTED THIS GLOBALIZATION
PATH AND THE POLICIES THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO IMPROVE THEIR LIVES.
>> YOU WERE ONE OF THEM. >> ABSOLUTELY.
AND I WILL OWN UP TO THAT. ALTHOUGH I THINK IN THE '90s, WE
DID A HECK OF A LOT BETTER JOB THAN WHAT FOLLOWED, BECAUSE WE
RESPECTED THE SOCIAL CONTRACT THAT EVEN AS WE RECOGNIZED THE
INEVITABLE CHANGES THAT ARE DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGY AND THE
ECONOMY, WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO THOSE WHO ARE HURT AND
DAMAGED BY IT, TO HAVE THE EDUCATION AND JOB TRAINING AND
THE CREATION OF NEW OPPORTUNITIES BY WORKING
TOGETHER THROUGH THE INSTRUMENTS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT, WHERE THE
MARKET'S NOT GOING TO TAKE CARE OF IT ITSELF.
SURRENDERING EVERYTHING TO THE MARKET AND ABANDONED THE OPTIONS
THAT YOU HAVE WITH POLICIES TO REMEDY THE EXCESSES AND HEAL THE
DAMAGE, THAT'S WHAT'S REALLY CAUSED THIS TREMENDOUS UNREST.
AND SO A DEMAGOGUE COMES IN AND SAYS, WE'RE GOING TO RETURN TO
THE PAST, EVERYTHING'S GOING TO BE FINE.
THAT HAS AN UNDERSTANDABLE APPEAL.
IT'S NOT WORKING, BECAUSE IT WAS NEVER BASED ON REALITY.
>> ALL RIGHT. VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE, IT'S
GREAT TO HAVE YOU. THE MOVIE IS CAL