Al Gore's new climate change film raises huge question: Will he run again in 2020?

The former vice president hasn't ruled out running again

Mr Gore hasn't ruled out a potential 2020 run (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for New York Times)

Al Gore has reemerged on the US national scene to once again try and educate Americans about the dangers of climate change, and the timing is raising the question of a potential 2020 challenge to Donald Trump.

Mr Gore has been drumming up publicity for his latest movie, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, and recently spoke with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders — the most liked politician in America at the moment — about the clean energy economy, and the difficult task the world faces to save the world from dire potential consequences of a warming planet.

But, when it comes to taking on Mr Trump in 2020, the former vice president notably hasn’t ruled out a run.

“I’m a recovering politician,” Mr Gore says in the film, an indicator that he may be leaning toward not running, but also a statement that doesn’t rule out the possibility.

Mr Gore has spent the past 17 years rebuilding his public image after a devastating and messy election loss in 2000 in which he won the national popular vote but lost in the electoral college to George W Bush.

During that post-election period, he’s focused on climate change as an existential crisis for the world to grapple with. Mr Gore, climate change activists and scientists say, has been one of the most prominent and effective American leaders spreading the word about the issue. Although it has been over 10 years since he released his widely praised first movie on the subject, which ended up winning an Academy Award, his network of connexions to people in the environmental movement, the business world, and in government still makes him a force to contend with.

“He’s still a very important figure in climate change and sustainable communities broadly. he has a big audience and also is of course extremely widely connected to both decision makers and funders throughout the philanthropy community and so on,” Andrew Rosenberg, the director for science and democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told The Independent.

It’s unclear if Mr Gore would actually consider a 2020 run, however. Presidential campaigns are long, gruelling affairs that last nearly two years. There’s constant scrutiny from the press, and he’d have to face off against Mr Trump in a general election — a man who is well known for vicious attacks and name-calling as a campaigner. He may not publicly announce for quite a long time as well, since he waited until the proverbial last minute to announce in 2004 that he wasn't going to pursue a rematch in 2004 against Mr Bush.

Plus, he’d enter what is likely to be a crowded Democratic field. While his elder statesman status as a former vice president would surely get him a lot of attention, the Democratic Party appears to lack a clear front-runner for the next election. Hillary Clinton’s loss has left the field wide open.

Still, the same qualities that make Mr Gore a strong climate change advocate could serve him well in a presidential run if he decides to go for it.

David Hawkins, the director of climate programs at the Natural Resources Defense Council, says that he doesn’t comment on political matters, but noted the qualities that have allowed him to remain a leading voice in the climate debate, and contrasted Mr Gore on the issue with Mr Trump.

Having someone remind people of the fact that the issue remains important — indeed, it’s more important — and to be out there as a voice from national leadership who can command an audience isn’t phony,” Mr Kawkins told The Independent.

Whatever the case, Mr Hawkins says that whether Mr Gore decides to reenter politics is beside the point. The film, out in the United States July 28, has an important message of its own, he said.

“It’s important regardless of what Gore may or may not decide to do about running for president,” he said. “I don’t think it’s any reason to dismiss the movie.”