Fact brief – Do errors in Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ disprove climate change?
[1]Posted on 7 October 2025 by Sue Bin Park
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact[2] to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline[3].
Do errors in Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ disprove climate change?
While Gore’s 2006 documentary proved incorrect about the extent and timeline of some predictions, it does not negate the reality, confirmed by decades of peer-reviewed evidence, that humans are warming the planet.
One erroneous claim is that Kilimanjaro’s ice loss was driven mainly by warming. Research now indicates sublimation and local dryness as dominant causes.
Another is that sea levels could rise by 20 feet in the near future as ice sheets face imminent collapse – outcomes scientists expect over longer timescales than the documentary stated.
These errors do not change the general facts: glaciers worldwide are melting and seas are rising due to human-emitted heat-trapping greenhouse gases.
A 2007 U.K. court review found the film “substantially founded upon scientific research and fact” but required schoolteachers to clarify speculative or exaggerated points for students.
Inaccuracies in Gore’s presentation do not disprove the broad, robust scientific consensus on human-caused climate change.
Go to full rebuttal on Skeptical Science or to the fact brief on Gigafact[4][5]
This fact brief is responsive to quotes such as this one[6].
Sources
HowStuffWorks What ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ Got Right (And Wrong) About Climate Change[7]
DeSmog An Inconvenient Judgment? U.K. Court Actually Endorsed Gore’s Film[8]
ScienceLine Al Gore’s movie ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ says sea levels could rise up to 20 feet. Is this true?[9]
NOAA Climate Change: Mountain glaciers[10]
Environmental Research Letters Consensus on consensus: a synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming[11]
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide Stuart Dimmock v. Secretary of State for Education and Skills, [2007] EWHC 2288 (Admin) (Inconvenient Truth case)[13]
Please use this form[14] to provide feedback about this fact brief. This will help us to better gauge its impact and usability. Thank you!
About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact[15] — a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all of our published fact briefs here[16].
References
- ^ Fact brief – Do errors in Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ disprove climate change? (skepticalscience.com)
- ^ Gigafact (gigafact.org)
- ^ the tipline (gigafact.org)
- ^ Go to full rebuttal on Skeptical Science (sks.to)
- ^ to the fact brief on Gigafact (gigafact.org)
- ^ this one (www.theguardian.com)
- ^ What ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ Got Right (And Wrong) About Climate Change (science.howstuffworks.com)
- ^ An Inconvenient Judgment? U.K. Court Actually Endorsed Gore’s Film (www.desmog.com)
- ^ Al Gore’s movie ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ says sea levels could rise up to 20 feet. Is this true? (scienceline.org)
- ^ Climate Change: Mountain glaciers (web.archive.org)
- ^ Consensus on consensus: a synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming (doi.org)
- ^ Scientific Consensus (web.archive.org)
- ^ Stuart Dimmock v. Secretary of State for Education and Skills, [2007] EWHC 2288 (Admin) (Inconvenient Truth case) (elaw.org)
- ^ this form (docs.google.com)
- ^ Gigafact (gigafact.org)
- ^ See all of our published fact briefs here (sks.to)