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Gore Blames Climate Stalemate on U.S.

By Gerard Wynn,
Reuters
Posted: 2007-12-13 17:12:49
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Dec 13) - Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore drew cheers at 190-nation talks by saying the United States was the main block to launching negotiations in Bali on a new global climate treaty.

Efforts to start two-year negotiations on a pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol flagged on Thursday, the penultimate day of the Dec. 3-14 talks, after the European Union accused the United States of lacking ambition.

"I am going to speak an inconvenient truth," Gore told an audience of several hundred, playing on the name of his Oscar-winning documentary.

And in low tones he added: "My own country the United States is principally responsible for obstructing progress in Bali," spurring rapturous applause and cheers.

Arriving fresh from Oslo, where he had collected the Nobel Peace Prize, Gore urged governments to forge a "new path" towards a global climate change agreement in spite of what he described as an obstructive United States.

"I don't know how you can navigate around this enormous elephant in the room which I've been undiplomatic enough to name. But I'm asking you to do it," he said. Gore was defeated by President George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential race.

Other agreements in Bali could also help developing countries adapt to damage from climate change, curb their rising emissions of greenhouse gases and mark a step towards protecting tropical forests.

Rajendra Pachauri, who collected the Nobel Prize on behalf of a U.N. panel of climate scientists that shared the award with Gore, vaulted onto the podium to shake Gore's hand.

EU-U.S. SPLIT

Earlier on Thursday, the EU accused the United States of climate inaction, saying the rest of the world was still waiting for U.S. leadership, and threatened to boycott a U.S.-hosted climate meet of major economies next month.

The Bali talks are split over the guidelines for starting two years of formal negotiations on a deal to succeed Kyoto.

The EU wants a firm guideline of cuts of 25-40 percent in greenhouse gases by 2020 below 1990 levels, while the United States, Japan and Canada say figures would prejudge the outcome.

Gore stole the show in Bali after two days of lengthy ministerial speeches which had waxed on familiar themes about the urgency of action to slow global warming and the need for cooperation.

In a speech familiar to viewers of his film "An Inconvenient Truth" and to a global climate change lecture tour, Gore puzzled over a lack of urgency to fight climate change at Bali.

"There's no precedent in history, culture for the radically new relationship between humanity and the planet," he said, citing new evidence this week that the North Pole may be ice-free in summer as soon as 2012.

Gore counted one year and 40 days to the day the United States would have a new president to succeed George W. Bush. He predicted that a successor who would do more to act on global warming seriously. Gore has repeatedly said he has no plans to run.

Copyright 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-12-13 16:37:12
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Recent Comments

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780 comments

Theloanarrangers 10:55:00 PM Dec 14 2007

continuation of theloanarrangers comment--
efforts to do what he can to educate the masses to a serious situation. Benjamin Franklin said, "Those who govern, having much business on their hands, do not generally like to take the trouble of considering and carrying into execution new projects. The best public measures are therefore seldom adopted from previous wisdom, but forced by the occasion". Regretfully, at such dire moment as we now face, few dare to suffer the onslaught and speak the truth while at the podium they recognize they must stay, seeing that the rest either whittle the hours away as they pray or as some do that post here, like jackasses... bray. Educate yourself, know a subject before you give your opinion.
Gary Engen

Theloanarrangers 07:01:00 PM Dec 14 2007

It now longer surprises me when I see such ill-founded, hate-filled comments on a subject, (in this instance, global warming), that the lockstepping, mindless caudre of rightwing lackeys takes a reactionary position on. Lamenting the atrophy in the U.S. education system, a Japanese politico said, that by any indice one chooses to validate it, there truly is a manifest "dumbing down of America" in occurrence . When this phenomena is considered in light of the astute observation by Tocqueville, "The trouble with the American form of government is... it is representative" and then one adds to the mix, the current nationwide ignoring of Thomas Jefferson's warning that "A democracy will only survive as long as it's citizens make the effort to be informed so that they might then effectively participate to self-govern", you end up with the sort of arrogant and ignorant rants that are here displayed in response to a good and decent man's work, as he, Al Gore, efforts to do what he can to educa

fulltimedad001 03:13:03 PM Dec 14 2007

What an AZZ, this guy needs to go away

Sunbonnetquilter 10:34:00 AM Dec 14 2007

Since he hates his own country so much and all he should find another country.

Sunbonnetquilter 10:34:00 AM Dec 14 2007

Since he hates his own country so much and all he should find another country.

Sunbonnetquilter 10:34:00 AM Dec 14 2007

Since he hates his own country so much and all he should find another country.

RIVERTRAT 10:34:00 AM Dec 14 2007

gore is a dope. How anyone could take him seriously is betond logic. His movie was full of untruths, on purpose. They can't accurately predict next weeks weather, but 10-20 years from now is crystal clear?!!!! Idiot!

RIVERTRAT 10:34:00 AM Dec 14 2007

gore is a dope. How anyone could take him seriously is betond logic. His movie was full of untruths, on purpose. They can't accurately predict next weeks weather, but 10-20 years from now is crystal clear?!!!! Idiot!

GBailey159 10:31:00 AM Dec 14 2007

Anyone that would bash his own country over a lie, just because he is still whinning over losing an election, should lose his citizenship here! That man is nothing but an egotistical traitor and stupid as well!

MSCANOE 08:36:00 AM Dec 14 2007

the rest of the comment to below not printed sated it is egotistical hogwash to suggest we have that much power over climate change.
I have read and heard that there are poweful investors such as general electric that would have windfall profits from technologies used to deal with governmental policies passed dealing with gobal warming. I want to see more scientific commentary contrary to Al Gores global warming in the media. It is lacking.
Asia does not give a flying screaming monkeys ass about any of this.

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