Al Gore Says US States May Force Change in Climate Policy

By Kiyori Ueno
Bloomberg

Monday 15 January 2007

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore said many businesses and state governments "embrace" the aims of the Kyoto Protocol, which may force President George W. Bush to alter his opposition to the effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"Even though the national policy in the U.S. has not yet changed, many state governments have now embraced the goals of the Kyoto Protocol," Gore said at a speech to Japanese business leaders in Tokyo today. "One remaining step to change U.S. policy, and in the process, change the posture of the world, is solidifying this change in the U.S. business community."

Gore is visiting Japan to promote his film "An Inconvenient Truth," a documentary on global warming that calls for action to reduce carbon dioxide output. The film had the third-highest gross sales on record for a documentary in the U.S.

More than 200 cities in the U.S., including New York City and Los Angeles, "adopt" the Kyoto Protocol in their own efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to his book, which has the same title as the film.

"Many U.S. business leaders remember all too well what happened to the Japanese miracle when you embraced the efficiency revolution before they did," he said, adding that revolution in efficiency is needed to solve the climate crisis.

Gore, who was the vice president of the U.S. from 1993 to 2001, helped negotiate the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 that aims to restrict carbon emissions from cars, power plants and other sources.

Political Change

In 2005, the European Union started a compulsory carbon- dioxide emissions trading system, the world's largest, to meet targets under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on global warming. Bush said in 2001 he wouldn't adhere to a campaign pledge to regulate greenhouse gases and withdrew the U.S. from the treaty, citing its cost to the economy.

Gore said U.S. elections in November that put Democrats back in control of Congress and the Senate is a sign voters want widespread change.

"The elections in November, although attributable to many different causes, nevertheless represent a sign of change in approach endorsed by American people." "And the same kind of change is now beginning to be expressed where climate crisis is concerned."

U.S. Senators Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Independent, and John McCain, an Arizona Republican and potential presidential candidate, yesterday introduced climate legislation that calls for a national cap on the pollution that many scientists say is leading to higher temperatures and extreme weather events worldwide.

Running?

Environmentalists and scientists including James Hansen, the government's top climate researcher, say action must be taken before climate change causes irreversible damage to ecosystems and economies around the globe.

The success of Gore's film has put him back in the public spotlight and raised speculation he may run in the next presidential election in 2008.

Gore has said he hasn't ruled out making another run for president, but he doesn't "expect" to launch a campaign. He made the comments during a visit to Australia in September, where he was promoting his film.

Gore and Senator Hillary Clinton of New York are statistically tied with Republicans Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, and McCain in a new poll by CNN last month on the 2008 presidential race.

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