11 Nov 2022
Al Gore says the Democratic Party's better-than-expected midterm results should reassure the world that America will meet its climate change commitments.
The former US vice president and climate campaigner told Sky News: "I think that both in the United States and in the United Kingdom, the voters are saying 'we want good governance, we want sensible policies, we want less political conflict'.
"I think that the candidates that made themselves vulnerable to the label 'extreme' are the ones who appear to have lost, and the ones who have advocated working in a cross-partisan bipartisan way are getting the favour of voters, and I think that bodes well for the future."
Expanding on the theme of stability, he said of former president Donald Trump: "I think that this election outcome is not one that he is likely to be happy with, because it will be interpreted by many in his own party as partly down to his active participation.
"The midterm election after the first two years of an incumbent president - historically that's an occasion for massive losses to happen.
"This may be because Trump was so visible and because he took a hand in selecting these candidates the voters saw in many cases as too extreme to merit their support."
Meanwhile, one of the most contentious issues at the summit is the debate on loss and damage.
Developing countries claim that developed countries have a responsibility for climate change and have called for compensation to help address the loss and damage they have experienced as a result of climate change.
The issue has dominated the summit, with wealthy nations, including America, agreeing to talk about the demands of developing countries for the first time, but unwilling to commit to a brand new funding facility.
Mr Gore said: "I think that the moral equities involved in this question are on the side of the developing countries.
"Yes, they deserve it, and yes, the rich countries should be providing assistance to them for loss and damage and for adaptation, and for mitigation - for the transition to cleaner fuels.
"Look, it's a difficult conundrum, for sure, but if you're asking my opinion, yes, we have an obligation."
Mr Gore also said the push to develop gas in Africa as a short term solution to the energy crisis would be a "condemnation" of the future of the planet.
Echoing the United Nations secretary general's words from earlier this week, he said: "If you're on the highway to climate hell, it's time to take your foot off the gas, literally.
"This dash to gas in Africa and other developing countries would be a condemnation of humanity's future.
"We need to start solving the climate crisis and obey the first law of holes - when you're in a hole, stop digging.
"Adding more global warming pollution to the sky, using it as an open sewer, that's reckless and wrong."
The former vice president said he was still hopeful that global warming can be limited to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, in large part because of the expected medium-to-long-term decline of fossil fuels as cheap and clean renewable energy and nuclear power form a larger part of the energy mix.
He said: "The fossil fuel industry is nearing the end of its dominance in energy markets.
"We are seeing them having great difficulty attracting investment capital for more fossil fuel development, because so many in the investor community are saying, 'wait a minute, this doesn't look like a good bargain'."
US President Joe Biden is expected to arrive at the COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt later.
He is due to hold a bilateral meeting with Egypt's president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to talk about the climate crisis, the war in Ukraine, and human rights.
The meeting comes amid concern about the number of political prisoners being held in Egypt, including British-Egyptian citizen Alaa Abd el-Fattah who has been refusing food and water since the start of COP27.
President Biden is due to address the summit on emission reduction efforts being made by the US, which is the world's second largest polluter behind China, as well as support for climate vulnerable countries to adapt to the changes caused by global warming.
It is unclear if the president will talk about the issue of loss and damage, or reparations payments, for those impacted by climate change.
news.sky.com
Al Gore says the Democratic Party's better-than-expected midterm results should reassure the world that America will meet its climate change commitments.
The former US vice president and climate campaigner told Sky News: "I think that both in the United States and in the United Kingdom, the voters are saying 'we want good governance, we want sensible policies, we want less political conflict'.
"I think that the candidates that made themselves vulnerable to the label 'extreme' are the ones who appear to have lost, and the ones who have advocated working in a cross-partisan bipartisan way are getting the favour of voters, and I think that bodes well for the future."
Expanding on the theme of stability, he said of former president Donald Trump: "I think that this election outcome is not one that he is likely to be happy with, because it will be interpreted by many in his own party as partly down to his active participation.
"The midterm election after the first two years of an incumbent president - historically that's an occasion for massive losses to happen.
"This may be because Trump was so visible and because he took a hand in selecting these candidates the voters saw in many cases as too extreme to merit their support."
Meanwhile, one of the most contentious issues at the summit is the debate on loss and damage.
Developing countries claim that developed countries have a responsibility for climate change and have called for compensation to help address the loss and damage they have experienced as a result of climate change.
The issue has dominated the summit, with wealthy nations, including America, agreeing to talk about the demands of developing countries for the first time, but unwilling to commit to a brand new funding facility.
Mr Gore said: "I think that the moral equities involved in this question are on the side of the developing countries.
"Yes, they deserve it, and yes, the rich countries should be providing assistance to them for loss and damage and for adaptation, and for mitigation - for the transition to cleaner fuels.
"Look, it's a difficult conundrum, for sure, but if you're asking my opinion, yes, we have an obligation."
Mr Gore also said the push to develop gas in Africa as a short term solution to the energy crisis would be a "condemnation" of the future of the planet.
Echoing the United Nations secretary general's words from earlier this week, he said: "If you're on the highway to climate hell, it's time to take your foot off the gas, literally.
"This dash to gas in Africa and other developing countries would be a condemnation of humanity's future.
"We need to start solving the climate crisis and obey the first law of holes - when you're in a hole, stop digging.
"Adding more global warming pollution to the sky, using it as an open sewer, that's reckless and wrong."
The former vice president said he was still hopeful that global warming can be limited to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, in large part because of the expected medium-to-long-term decline of fossil fuels as cheap and clean renewable energy and nuclear power form a larger part of the energy mix.
He said: "The fossil fuel industry is nearing the end of its dominance in energy markets.
"We are seeing them having great difficulty attracting investment capital for more fossil fuel development, because so many in the investor community are saying, 'wait a minute, this doesn't look like a good bargain'."
US President Joe Biden is expected to arrive at the COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt later.
He is due to hold a bilateral meeting with Egypt's president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to talk about the climate crisis, the war in Ukraine, and human rights.
The meeting comes amid concern about the number of political prisoners being held in Egypt, including British-Egyptian citizen Alaa Abd el-Fattah who has been refusing food and water since the start of COP27.
President Biden is due to address the summit on emission reduction efforts being made by the US, which is the world's second largest polluter behind China, as well as support for climate vulnerable countries to adapt to the changes caused by global warming.
It is unclear if the president will talk about the issue of loss and damage, or reparations payments, for those impacted by climate change.
Al Gore says midterm results should reassure the world that the US will meet climate change commitments
The former US vice president says people voted for "good governance, sensible policies, less political conflict".
