Episode summary
Former VP Al Gore: The David Rubenstein Show
The David Rubenstein Show
· · Hosts: David Rubenstein · Guests: Al Gore
Summary
Al Gore argues that climate change has moved from a distant risk to an accelerating crisis, pointing to extreme floods, fires, drought and climate migration as evidence that the world is already paying the price. He says the Paris framework still matters because warming can stop rising only if humanity stops adding heat-trapping pollution and reaches net zero, but he warns that the planet is still on track to overshoot the original targets. He also stresses the danger of “negative tipping points,” including the possibility of the Gulf Stream shutting down.
Gore says his urgency began in college, when Roger Revelle opened his eyes to climate science, and deepened as a congressman when he pushed for the first House hearing on the topic. He also reflects on Vietnam, journalism, law school, and his path into politics, framing many of those choices as moral decisions shaped by public service and family responsibility.
On energy and business, Gore makes the economic case that solar is now the cheapest electricity in history, with wind second-cheapest and batteries rapidly falling in price. He says renewable power is already dominating new electricity generation and that electric vehicles are spreading fast. He also describes his investment firm as a sustainability-focused business that has delivered strong returns while avoiding fossil fuels.
Key takeaways
- Gore says extreme weather and climate migration are already intensifying, with 1 to 2 billion climate migrants a risk by 2050, according to the World Health Organization's Climate Committee.
- Gore argues that the Paris goal can still be salvaged only if the world stops adding heat-trapping pollution and reaches net zero.
- Gore says solar is now the cheapest electricity in history, wind is second-cheapest, and utility-scale batteries are falling in price quickly.
- Gore says 93% of new electricity generation installed worldwide last year was renewable, showing the speed of the energy transition.
- Gore says his sustainability-focused investment firm has had a higher rate of return than the S&P 500 over 21 years.
Notable quotes
“We can overshoot and then come back down if we stop adding more heat trapping pollution to the atmosphere and stabilize at what they call net zero”
“And it's getting steadily worse. Beyond that, there are very tiny areas in the world today that are physiologically unlivable”
“The cheapest electricity in the history of the world is solar energy. Second cheapest is wind energy”
“if you look at all of the new electricity generation installed worldwide last year, I often ask people what percentage of it was renewable”
“I've devoted a lot of time to trying to raise awareness of why we have to solve the climate crisis. And we do have to do it”
How the episode opens
This is my kitchen table and also my filing system. Over much of the past three decades, I've been an investor the highest calling of mankind I've often thought was private equity. And then I started interviewing.
Oh, I watch your interview with coach. I know how to do something. I've learned in doing my interviews how leaders make it to the top.
I asked him how much you want. He said to 50. I said, Fine.
I didn't negotiate with him. I didn't know due diligence. I have something I'd like to sell and how they stay there.
You don't feel inadequate now because being only the second wealthiest man in the world, Is that right? At the Bloomberg house in Davos. I recently had a chance to sit down with Al Gore.
Former vice President United States had a chance to ask him what it was like to come so close to being president but not actually becoming president. I also asked him why spending so much time on clean energy and cleaning up the environment. So today you're spending a fair amount of your time on your investment operation.
You make a lot of speeches. You're also involved on the board of the World Economic Forum, where we are today in Davos. What propelled you to go on the board of the World Economic Forum?
Klaus Schwab, the former chairman and the founder of the with the World Economic Forum, called me and asked me to join after I wrote a book called The Future Six Drivers of Global Change. It turned out that Klaus Schwab was the target demographic for that for that book, and he liked it a lot and called me and asked me to join the board. You are an advocate for climate change and that people should pay more attention to it.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- climate crisis
- energy transition
- renewables economics
- extreme weather
- paris framework
Companies and tickers mentioned
- AAPL
- Apple
Watch the episode
Watch “Former VP Al Gore: The David Rubenstein Show” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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