“Climate symbolism” matters.
“Al Gore is a very smart person. He undoubtedly thought through the tradeoffs of his latest business transaction with a Persian Gulf oil state. He surely anticipated what it would look like and how it might reflect on his signature cause. And he went ahead and did the deal. I don’t get that.”
Nobody would bitch if Gore sold a few million carbon credits to the Qataris. Who’s the hypocrite?