Climate alarmism raised awareness but it skewed policy toward expansive emissions reductions rather than research into cheap clean energy
Two decades ago, Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth” thrust climate change into the global spotlight. Its dramatic imagery and dire warnings helped transform a niche concern into a front-page crisis, influencing rich-country leaders and elite jet-setters, and inspiring a generation of activists.
Twenty years on is sufficient distance to reflect, not just on the film’s impact, but also on its accuracy. Many of Gore’s most alarming predictions have failed to materialize, while the policy response he helped inspire has proved extraordinarily flawed.
more.
20 years ago, An Inconvenient Truth put climate change at the center of global debate, shaping politics, influencing leaders, and inspiring a generation of activists.
Two decades later, we can assess not just its impact, but its accuracy. Many of the film’s most alarming predictions did not materialize, while many of the policies it inspired have proven costly and ineffective.
The lesson? Panic is a poor guide for public policy. Focusing on innovation, adaptation, and economic development can do far more to help both people and the climate—at a fraction of the cost.