Conference Presentation, Fireside Chat, Interview
A Conversation with Al Gore: Six Drivers of Global Change
- Gore anticipates humanity faces a binary choice between climate destruction or a sustainable future, predicting that the sooner action begins, the higher the probability of resolving the crisis while acknowledging time is short.
- Gore expects renewable energy costs to decline as adoption increases, while fossil fuel prices will rise, with solar and wind costs crossing the rising line for coal and oil in many countries.
- Gore forecasts significant economic shifts, including China becoming the number one economy, 3 billion people joining the global middle class within 17 years, and the global population leveling off between 9.5 and 11 billion.
- Gore predicts rapid technological integration, stating that 50 billion intelligent devices will connect to the global mind within three years, alongside the convergence of television into the digital universe.
- Gore reports specific U.S. climate and economic data, including $110 billion in climate disaster damage last year, 61 percent of the country in deep drought, the hottest year in U.S. history, and 93 percent of additional income going to the wealthiest 1 percent.
- Gore highlights a shortening of financial market horizons, noting the average equity holding period has dropped from seven years to less than five months, and that 80 percent of traders in London and New York utilize high-speed algorithms.
- Gore describes a rise in political specialization and financial entanglement, with lobbying expenditures rising from $100 million to over $3 billion and a 5:1 ratio of anti-climate lobbyists to members of Congress during pending legislation.
- Gore warns that reliance on short-term thinking regarding the genetic future of humanity and quarterly earnings could cause real trouble, citing that 80 percent of CEOs would reject sustainable investments missing immediate earnings targets.
- Gore asserts that public consciousness changes can trigger non-linear political shifts, such as the Berlin Wall falling in a single day, and that 90 percent of Americans support gun background checks despite special interest opposition.
- Gore expects future generations to judge the current era based on whether they demonstrate the moral courage to act differently or face justified accountability for willful blindness to unfolding consequences.
- Gore notes that business and families are driving policy changes ahead of government action, while 80 percent of political party spending goes to 30-second TV ads consumed for an average of five hours daily by Americans.
- Gore mentions that 90 million tons of global warming pollution are emitted daily, trapping energy equivalent to 400,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs per day, with all scientific societies agreeing on these findings.
- Gore observes that 84,000 people listed as Elvis impersonators in recent statistics, a sharp increase from 174 in 1977, and that the average social game user is a 40-year-old woman.
- Gore states that Generation Investment Management has beaten market benchmarks for nine years since its founding 12 years ago, and that 93 percent of additional income in the U.S. recently went to the top 1 percent.
- Gore reports that 80 percent of trades in major financial centers occur via high-speed algorithms in milliseconds, contrasting with the 30-year-old average holding period of roughly seven years.
- Gore recalls that the Berlin Wall fell in a single day and notes that the World Trade Center memorial flooding occurred ahead of schedule, using these events to illustrate the potential speed of societal and environmental shifts.
- Gore mentions that the Beijing Genomic Institute exceeds U.S. counterparts in scale and funding, and that his book team produced 15,000 pages of research for his upcoming publication titled The Future.