​Over 400 Fredericton High School students attended a special climate presentation Nov. 21, hosted by New Brunswick environmentalist and sustainability consultant Carl Duivenvoorden, and were surprised when former United States vice-president Al Gore called in to chat with them.

A total of 1,700 presentations were held globally and Fredericton High School students were one of five groups that Gore spoke with that day. Gore is a renowned environmentalist and a Nobel Peace Prize winner for his efforts to educate the world about climate change, spearheading the launch of a famous documentary, The Inconvenient Truth.

According to the 2019 report Canada's Changing Climate Report (CCCR), which was commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canada's annual average temperature over land has warmed by 1.7 C since 1948. The rate of warming is even higher in Canada's North, in the Prairies and northern British Columbia.

Evidence shows increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere—specifically carbon dioxide concentrations—can explain Earth’s observed warming trend. Greenhouse gases are called that because they effectively act like a greenhouse or a layer of insulation for the Earth: they trap heat and warm the planet. 

Recent reports state that by 2050 the effects of climate change will be significant around the globe.