An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (PG)
★★★
MORE than a decade ago, former vice-president Al Gore delivered a startling call to action to fight climate change in the form of his Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, so named for the way in which it was presenting information that people didn’t really want to hear but couldn’t be denied.
Now he’s back with a follow-up that feels like the second alarm that goes off after you’ve hit the snooze button to remind you that you really do need to get up now.
In part this one feels like a reiteration of what he presented before in that much discussed and in places disputed documentary, a kind of shouting-louder-this-time reminder fuelled with the information about what has happened to the planet since, the struggles to get world nations and their leaders to take action and the extremely recent road block put up when President Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.
While this quite unexpected but nevertheless valuable sequel doesn’t quite have the shattering impact of the first one, Gore’s arguments remain persuasive and compelling. He utilises a mixture of cold, hard facts – although there’s less a feeling of it being one extended PowerPoint presentation this time around – and his decades-long passion to doing his part delivered in his trademark amiable yet absorbing style.
Much of the doc focuses on Gore travelling around the world giving talks to groups of people training to be citizen activists for climate change and advocates for greener energy that could put a great dent in its impact, chief among them is the idea of solar panels on a massive scale, particularly in developing countries like India.
It’s messier and more unwieldy than its predecessor – as is the case with most sequels – and chances are it’s not going to convince anyone not already firmly on board with its forward-thinking ideas. But it’s undeniably infused with a rousing sense of hope and is a heartfelt second wake-up call in the face of an eternally bleak subject matter.
The film’s subtitle is Gore’s reaffirmed base position, the need to convince people in power to choose the future ahead of immediate financial and political interests, to keep upcoming generations in mind by leaving the planet in a better state than which we found it. Gore makes his case for re-engaging with that most unavoidable of world issues with re-energized urgency and straight-down-the-line sincerity.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here