Former Vice President Al Gore applauded recent measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and highlighted the need for stronger climate legislation at an event held in Madison Friday by the Society of Environmental Journalism.
Gore said he is ""very optimistic"" about current and upcoming changes being made to address climate issues.
He cited the passage of cap-and-trade legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year and admitted that although the bill is not as aggressive as he would like, he thinks the legislation will accomplish meaningful carbon emission reduction. He said compromises had to be made to pass the bill.
Gore said he thinks passing cap-and-trade legislation in the U.S. Senate is essential to battle climate change and said he is optimistic a bill will pass before world leaders meet at the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December.
""Much more bipartisan dialogue is underway behind the scenes in the U.S. Senate than is presently publicly visible,"" he said.
According to Gore, stimulus money will help fund the construction of a ""super grid"" capable of producing large amounts of energy from solar, wind and geothermal sources. This grid will respond to much higher levels of demand and encourage efficiency and conservation, he said.
Gore announced that as of Jan. 1, 2010, all major carbon dioxide emitters will be required to publicly report their carbon emissions. Once media outlets produce lists of major carbon emitters, Gore said he thinks there will be a huge effort to reduce emissions and avoid public criticism.
He said he believes climate change cannot be fully resolved until dependence on carbon-based fuels is reduced.
""We are still borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet, and that has to change,"" he said.
Many countries are starting to see a connection between climate change and other global issues, he said.
""There has been a very powerful recognition in many countries that there is a linkage in the climate crisis, economic crisis and security crisis that is in part derivative of the world's ridiculous overdependence on carbon-based fuels and in particular overdependence on oil,"" he said.
Gore said he believes climate change is so complex that it will ultimately require all nations to cooperate to make major decisions. He said the Copenhagen Climate Summit is every nation's chance to combat climate change on a global scale.
Gore commended recent progress on climate issues and said many difficult decisions will have to be made to help future generation succeed. He said despite our current challenges with nonrenewable resources, ""political will is a renewable resource"" that can bring progress.
