Gore warns of ‘yawning gap’ between long-term climate goals and near-term action plans

Former Vice President Al Gore is warning of a “yawning gap” between long-term goals on climate change and the action plans developed by governments to address it. 

The remarks came along with the release of the 2021 Sustainability Trends Report from Generation Investment Management, the environmental-focused firm co-founded by Gore and former Goldman Sachs asset management head David Blood. 

Gore said in a press release announcing the report that the “challenge” facing governments and international organizations “remains vast and urgent.” 

“As the world works to contain and recover from the pandemic, we must harness the momentum of the global sustainability revolution to ensure that we do not fall back into our old patterns, but instead usher in a just and sustainable future,” he said. 

Gore went on to say that there “remains a yawning gap between long-term climate goals and near-term action plans.” 

“Large emitters must increase their climate ambitions with renewed credibility and urgency,” he argued. “Likewise, developing countries urgently need substantial support on vaccine access, climate finance and debt relief.” 

“A lack of progress on these fronts risks undermining progress in tackling the climate crisis and in facilitating a just and equitable recovery,” he said. “We must be vigilant of the rising threat of greenwashing or risk derailing hard-won progress.”

The report said that greenwashing, or advancing misleading claims about environmental commitments, is threatening to undermine progress in sustainability. 

The firm specifically said that there is “growing unease at the low quality of some net-zero commitments” by governments and companies, citing a 2020 European Union study that found that 42 percent of websites contain “misleading claims on the environment.” 

President Biden earlier this year announced during a virtual climate summit with dozens of other heads of state that the U.S. by 2030 aims to reduce its carbon emissions by anywhere from 50 and 52 percent compared to 2005 levels. 

While many Democrats and U.S. allies praised Biden for his commitment, some progressives argued that the goal is not ambitious enough, saying the administration should aim for a reduction of at least 70 percent. 

Meanwhile, conservatives have argued that the targets would negatively impact U.S. workers.