Enviro News Asia, Vatican – The Fifth President of Indonesia and Chair of the Steering Committee of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Megawati Soekarnoputri, has invited the 45th Vice President of the United States, Al Gore, to visit Indonesia and engage in discussions on climate change. Megawati extended this invitation during a break at the World Leaders Summit on Children’s Rights held in the Vatican on Monday (February 2, 2025), local time.
Seated alongside the Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, and Indonesia’s Ambassador to Tunisia, Zuhairi Miswari, Megawati initially discussed the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, United States. Albert Arnold Gore Jr., popularly known as Al Gore, explained that the fires were triggered by drought and issues in the water system used for firefighting. “This incident serves as a valuable lesson for all of us,” said Al Gore, who served as Vice President during the administration of President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 2001. Al Gore is also widely recognized for receiving the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize alongside the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for his efforts in raising global awareness about climate change.
Al Gore also expressed appreciation for Megawati’s speech at the summit, particularly regarding climate change as a global issue. “Climate change is closely related to efforts to protect children,” said Al Gore, the founder of The Climate Reality Project, an organization advocating for global climate action. He is also well known for his documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth, which played a significant role in educating the public about the climate crisis.
The two then discussed the U.S. government’s policy of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. “I know Megawati. Indonesia would never do that,” said Al Gore. The Paris Agreement is an international treaty adopted at COP21 on December 12, 2015, in Paris, France. Its goal is to address climate change by limiting the global average temperature increase to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This legally binding international treaty on climate change has been adopted by 196 parties, including Indonesia. As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, Indonesia ratified it into national law through Law No. 16 of 2016.
As the Chair of BRIN’s Steering Committee, Megawati then formally invited Al Gore to visit Indonesia to discuss climate change. “I look forward to making that moment a reality,” said Al Gore.
