Amanpour – Former US VP and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Al Gore

Date: November 12, 2025
Host: Christiane Amanpour (CNN)
Key Guests: Al Gore, Charlie Savage, Walter Isaacson, Juanita Gobertis Estrada, Noah Bullock

Episode Overview

This episode of Amanpour centers on urgent global affairs, focusing intensely on climate change leadership – or lack thereof – at the COP 30 summit in Belem, Brazil. Nobel Peace Prize winner and former US Vice President Al Gore offers his perspective on the US leadership vacuum, global momentum for climate action, and the state of the renewable revolution. The episode also addresses reports of abuse against Venezuelan migrants deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador’s mega prison, analyzes the Dick Cheney doctrine’s impact on the US presidency, and closes with a tribute to Jane Goodall.

1. Filling the US Leadership Gap on Climate Change

Main Segment: Al Gore in Conversation with Christiane Amanpour

(Timestamps: 02:25–14:51)

a. COP 30 and the Absence of US Leadership

• Amanpour sets the scene at COP 30 (Belem, Brazil), noting that major global leaders (Trump, Xi, Modi) have not attended, raising questions about global climate leadership. Protesters foreground the urgency (“their land is not for sale” – 01:01).
• Al Gore expresses disappointment at the current US administration’s (Trump’s) absence and actions:
  • “It's disappointing, of course, that the present administration has turned its back on the climate crisis.” (02:47, Al Gore)
  • Says the administration has impeded data access, increasing global demand for independent emissions tracking: “One of the most unfortunate actions is shutting down access to so much data...” (02:47, Al Gore)

b. Global Momentum for Change Despite Setbacks

• Gore’s Optimism & Evidence:

  • "There’s a very promising path forward. I think we are going to win this struggle. The question is whether we'll win it in time." (04:25, Al Gore)
  • Key facts:
    • 93% of new global electricity generation in the last year is renewable.
    • 30% of cars sold worldwide in September were EVs.
    • 195 nations signed the Paris Agreement; only the US withdrew, and yet renewables in the US doubled post-withdrawal.
  • Memorably illustrates the ongoing emissions crisis:

    "The accumulated amount now traps as much extra heat as would be released by 750,000 first generation Hiroshima class atomic bombs exploding every 24 hours on the Earth. It’s insane for us to allow that to continue." (06:22, Al Gore)

• The Sustainability Revolution:
  Gore compares the renewable revolution to "the magnitude of the Industrial Revolution coupled with the speed of the Digital Revolution." (05:35, Al Gore)

c. US Politics and State-Level Action

• Despite federal setbacks, Amanpour and Gore highlight robust sub-national action: “...on the state and local level, there's a lot of movement, despite what the federal government says, towards climate change and renewables.” (07:10, Amanpour)

2. A Rift in Climate Approaches: Gates vs. Gore

(Timestamps: 07:10–10:39)

• Amanpour references a memo from Bill Gates suggesting “temperature is not the best way to measure our progress on climate.”
• Gore’s response:
  • Disappointed in Gates' stance, referencing praise from Trump:

    "The only person who gave Bill Gates a rave review for his about-face on climate was Donald Trump. He cheered loudly and said Gates is on Donald Trump's side now." (07:58, Al Gore)

  • Gore underscores the health impacts of the climate crisis:

    "The climate crisis is the number one threat to health in the world... almost 9 million people are killed every year by the co-pollution from burning fossil fuels...” (09:04, Al Gore)

  • Criticizes ongoing government fossil fuel subsidies as “ridiculous."
  • Contrasts Gates's argument with fresh catastrophes: Category 5 Hurricane Melissa (devastated Jamaica) and rainfall disasters in Vietnam.

3. US vs. China: The Green Tech Race & Economic Stakes

(Timestamps: 10:39–14:51)

• Amanpour reflects on Gore’s prophetic climate warnings since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit (“the task of saving the Earth’s environment will become the central organizing principle…” – 11:08, archive clip).
• Gore on US Position:
  • Framing Trump’s policies as economically self-defeating:

    "Donald Trump and his fossil fuel polluter allies are shooting America in both feet, metaphorically..." (12:19, Al Gore)

  • China exported more green tech in value than the entire US fossil fuel export market, signifying global shifts in economic leadership.
  • Renewable tech and jobs:

    "These exciting new technologies... create three times as many jobs per dollar spent compared to the old dirty fossil fuels." (13:05, Al Gore)

  • "Donald Trump is a little bit like King Knut who famously tried to stop the tides and the ocean waves. He cannot stop this sustainability revolution." (14:41, Al Gore)

4. US Political Landscape: Elections, Economy, and Party Dynamics

(Timestamps: 14:51–19:11)

• Recent Off-Year Election Outcomes:
  • Amanpour notes a voter focus on the economy; the elections resulted in “heavy margins for the Democrats.” (14:51, Amanpour)
• Gore’s Analysis:
  • Frames the elections as repudiation of Trump-aligned candidates:

    “It was a surprisingly huge landslide against all of the candidates Donald Trump was for and in favor of all the candidates that oppose what Donald Trump is trying to do." (15:51, Al Gore)

  • Americans, he says, "believe their eyes rather than the falsehoods that Donald Trump continues to put out. He says, up is down, black is white, the climate crisis is a hoax." (16:29, Al Gore)
  • Suggests that Republican legislators may begin to rethink their loyalty to Trump in light of electoral defeats.
• On Democrats' Strategic Choices:
  Gore expresses understanding and compassion for the eight Democratic senators who broke ranks in a shutdown vote:

  "I have compassion for those eight Democratic senators who broke ranks and voted to reopen the government. I understand their reasoning. I also very fully understand the other side." (18:18, Al Gore)

5. Human Rights Emergency: Venezuelans Deported to El Salvador’s Mega Prison

(Timestamps: 20:13–35:16)

• Segment Focus:
  Amanpour, Juanita Gobertis (Human Rights Watch), and Noah Bullock (Cristo Sal) present findings from a joint investigation into the deportation and abuse of Venezuelans under Trump’s “terrorist” designation.
  • Venezuelans deported to the terrorism confinement center (Secot) in El Salvador faced torture and were often not afforded due process.
  • Only 3% had any record of violent crime in the US. Many were seeking asylum or fleeing oppression in Venezuela.

    “...hundreds of men were ultimately disappeared into a terrorist confinement prison with no due process. They were never formally charged with crimes of terrorism or serious membership in the gangs. They never had a hearing.” (22:46, Noah Bullock)

  • Systematic torture detailed: regular beatings, punishment for communication, visiting dignitaries, or speaking to the Red Cross.
  • US complicit, they argue, due to knowledge of the prison’s conditions and explicit transfer of detainees.

    “This is a report based in over 200 interviews. We’ve corroborated the testimonies with the reports of forensic experts. So we trust our findings.” (34:24, Juanita Gobertis Estrada)

  • Comparison drawn to US complicity in torture since Abu Ghraib.

6. The Dick Cheney Doctrine: Executive Power and Trump

(Timestamps: 35:16–50:56)

Charlie Savage on Cheney's Legacy

• Cheney’s career tracked the arc of presidential power from Nixon/Ford to Bush to present day.
  • Post-Vietnam/Watergate, Congress reimposed constraints on the presidency.
  • Cheney “became a strong proponent of restoring... the imperial presidency, expanding executive power, getting rid of checks and balances...” (36:52, Charlie Savage)
  • Key levers of power included executive secrecy, defiance of statutes, and broad constitutional interpretations.
• Bush/Cheney-era precedent set the stage for Trump’s expansion of executive power.
• Savage notes irony in Cheney’s disdain for congressional checks, despite his and his daughter’s (Liz Cheney) roles as members.
• Cheney’s late-life support for Kamala Harris and opposition to Trump showed a shift:

  "...there was a structural interest in the United States in preserving democracy and the rule of law that supersedes all those other issues." (49:34, Charlie Savage)

7. Tribute to Jane Goodall: A Legacy of Hope in Conservation

(Timestamps: 51:00–52:40)

• Jane Goodall, world-renowned conservationist, passes at 91.
• Highlights her pioneering research on chimpanzees in Tanzania and unflagging advocacy for conservation.
  • “A good question indeed. Jane Goodall dedicated her life to protecting the planet. And she hoped her legacy would give young people hope and a sense of empowerment.” (52:24, Amanpour)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Al Gore:

  “It is inevitable that we’re going to make this change, but we need to accelerate the pace to in order to minimize the huge dangers that we’re encountering as we continue to put 175 million tons of global warming pollution into the sky using it as an open sewer.” (05:42)

  “They [fossil fuel companies] are much better at capturing politicians than they are at capturing emissions.” (13:31)

• On Human Rights:

  “It is very clear that under this Department of Justice, it's most likely that we will not have an independent and transparent investigation into these very serious crimes. But a time will come in which there is an investigation, as we've seen throughout the world, whenever there is torture.” (34:24, Juanita Gobertis Estrada)

• On Executive Power:

  "The central project in the political life of former Vice President Dick Cheney was his push to expand presidential power... the groundwork for President Trump’s own aggressive efforts to concentrate and unleash executive authority." (36:15, Christiane Amanpour reading Charlie Savage)

• On Conservation and Optimism:

  "Jane [Goodall] led with hope... May we all honor her by carrying forward that same fierce belief that we can do better, that we must do better, and that we have a responsibility to protect this beautiful natural world we all share." (51:20, Leonardo DiCaprio tribute)

Timely Takeaways

• The climate movement advances globally — especially on state/subnational and international levels — despite current US federal intransigence.
• Economic realities favor an accelerated transition to renewables (creating jobs, market leadership for China, etc.).
• Human rights crises, tied to US policy, remain acute and demand independent investigation.
• The debate over the boundaries of presidential power continues, contextualized by the legacies of Dick Cheney and now Donald Trump.
• Jane Goodall’s passing is a reminder of hope as a catalyst in activism.

Useful Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:25 – Al Gore interview begins
• 04:25 – Gore on climate momentum and “tipping points”
• 06:22 – Striking climate analogy: Hiroshima bombs
• 07:58 – Gore criticizes Bill Gates’s memo
• 12:19 – On US losing green race to China
• 14:41 – “King Knut” analogy to Trump
• 15:51 – Election analysis and Trump repudiation
• 18:18 – Shutdown and Democrats’ strategy
• 20:13 – Human rights segment begins
• 22:46 – Noah Bullock on extralegal deportations and torture
• 34:24 – Human Rights Watch on prospects for justice
• 35:16 – Charlie Savage on Cheney doctrine
• 44:52 – Cheney’s actions on 9/11
• 49:34 – Cheney’s late-career legacy and endorsement of Harris
• 51:00 – Tribute to Jane Goodall

Conclusion

A deeply relevant episode highlighting the crossroads of climate politics, human rights, and questions of democracy, featuring candid, data-backed insights from Al Gore, sobering human rights reporting, and a penetrating historical look at presidential power – all framed by the urgent optimism exemplified by the late Jane Goodall.