Al Gore

In 2004, Gore co-launched Generation Investment Management, a company for which he serves as Chair. This firm, which he chairs, seeks out companies which take a responsible view on global issues such as climate change. It was created to assist the growing demand for an investment style that can bring returns by blending traditional equity research with a focus on more intangible non-financial factors such as social and environmental responsibility and corporate governance.

Gore was later criticized by two bloggers who argue that he maintains carbon neutrality by purchasing carbon credits from GIM.  In response to the bloggers´ accusation, a spokesman for GIM stated that "Gore is not profiting from his crusade against global warming" and that Gore does not purchase carbon credits from Generation. Instead, Generation purchases carbon credits from third party providers such as the Carbon Neutral Company to offset the personal emissions of all employees and their families, including Gore's. He also stated that Generation does not sell carbon credits, nor does it develop them--rather, they voluntarily purchase credits from others on behalf of employees.  The conservative Capital Research Center has accused him of attempting to make a huge profit from his global warming activism.  Gore denies money motivates him to fight global warming.

Gore later starred in the Academy Award - winning 2006 documentary film An Inconvenient Truth. The film documents the evidence for anthropogenic global warming and warns of dire environmental consequences if people and industries do not make immediate changes to their behavior. It is the fourth-highest-grossing documentary in U.S. history.

He was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, which was shared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, headed by Rajendra K. Pachauri (Delhi, India).  The award was given "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change" on October 12, 2007.  Gore and Pachauri accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 in Oslo, Norway on December 10, 2007.

Gore also became a partner in the venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, heading that firm's climate change solutions group.

Gore's estate has been criticized twice by the group the Tennessee Center for Policy Research (TCPR). In February 2007 the group stated that "a report by the Nashville Electric Service revealed that Mr. Gore's mansion in Nashville consumed between 12 and 20 times more electricity than the average family home and that his electricity consumption had risen since the film's release in 2005.” In reporting on TCPR’s claims, MSNBC noted that the Nashville Electric Service report "omits several other key facts. The former vice president's home has 20 rooms, including home offices for himself and his wife, as well as a guest house and special security measures. Furthermore, the Gores buy energy produced from renewable sources, such as wind and solar. Tonight, Countdown confirmed with the local utility officials that their program, called the Green Power Switch, actually costs more for the Gores -- four dollars for every 150 kilowatt hours. Meaning, by our calculations, our math here, that the Gores actually chose to increase their electric bill by $5,893, more than 50 percent, in order to minimize carbon pollution.” A few months later, the Associated Press reported on December 13, 2007 that Gore "has completed a host of improvements to make the home more energy efficient, and a building-industry group has praised the house as one of the nation's most environmentally friendly [...] 'Short of tearing it down and starting anew, I don't know how it could have been rated any higher,' said Kim Shinn of the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council, which gave the house its second-highest rating for sustainable design.”

Gore was criticized by the TCPR again in June 2008 after the group obtained his public utility bills from the Nashville Electric Service and compared "electricity consumption between the 12 months before June 2007, when it says he installed his new technology, and the year since then.” According to their analysis, the Gores consumed 10% more energy in the year since their home received its eco-friendly modifications. TCPR also argued that, while the "average American household consumes 11,040 kWh in an entire year," the Gore residence "uses an average of 17,768 kWh per month –1,638 kWh more energy per month than before the renovations.” Gore's spokeswoman Kalee Kreider countered the claim by stating that the Gores' "utility bills have gone down 40 percent since the green retrofit." and that "the three-year renovation on the home wasn't complete until November, so it's a bit early to attempt a before-and-after comparison.”  She also noted that TCPR did not include Gore's gas bill in their analysis (which they had done the previous year) and that the gas "bill has gone down 90 percent [...] And when the Gores do power up, they pay for renewable resources, like wind and solar power or methane gas.”  Media Matters for America also discussed the fact that "100 percent of the electricity in his home comes from green power" and quoted the Tennessee Valley Authority as stating that "[al]though no source of energy is impact-free, renewable resources create less waste and pollution.”