Former Vice President Al Gore is launching a voter registration campaign this week with two goals: averting climate disaster and getting President Donald Trump out of office.
"For those of us concerned about the future of the Earth's climate and balance, this election is very important," Gore, who won a 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for climate activism and starred in the 2006 climate documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," told BuzzFeed News.
Several climate regulations have been rolled back under Trump, including pollution standards, while access to fossil fuels on public lands has been expanded.
"Young people, in particular, have been both more concerned about climate than other age groups and traditionally less likely to vote in large percentages," Gore commented. "I want to do everything I possibly can to contribute to the registration and turnout and voting by those who are concerned about the climate crisis."
Gore will kick off the campaign Wednesday with a voter registration rally at Texas Southern University in Houston, followed by voter registration drives at several college and university campuses in upcoming months.
He told BuzzFeed News he has raised money for his campaign through charitable donations, but would not name specific donors. His campaign confirmed, however, none of the donations came from any of the Democrats' presidential candidates, including Tom Steyer or Mike Bloomberg, both of whom are climate philanthropists.
The initiative is being run through Gore's Climate Reality Action Fund, whose sister group, the Climate Reality Project, trains climate activists. Many of the voter drives are being held in the same cities where activists are being trained this year.
Gore will not make the Green New Deal part of the voter initiative campaign, although he has publicly supported it. He also said he is not sure if he is endorsing a candidate in this year's election.