He didn't suddenly become ridiculously cool or funny. Who could have predicted Gore-mania'In his documentary, in "person" (let's face it, he was still "in character" at the press conference), or at the Oscars, he is still just a straight, earnest guy. Much has been spoken about Gore's magical turn-around in terms of public image. What comes out most when Gore speaks is that people listen to him as an authority figure. The Kyoto brand has been demonised in the US so we need a new treaty." But no matter who is President," said Gore, "The new treaty will be more acceptable. "The next treaty period slated for 2012 should begin earlier," he said. Gore discussed the Kyoto Treaty and its "cap and trade" and emissions trading schemes (ETS).
In Luxembourg, since 1 January, already drivers must pay 1 cent a litre towards Kyoto. Gore said that there would have to be more taxation such as CO2 taxes. "Ultimately there will have to be a shift in strategies." Well, that shift is already coming to Europe. "I do believe there will be a need in the future for harder policies," said Gore. If the hard truth has to be accepted - convenient or not - why waste time trying to convince people to conserve energy? For example, why not legislate, as with the Montreal Protocol that began banning CFCs in 1987 to protect the ozone layer? Why not ban energy-wasting light bulbs and legislate more energy-efficient ones? As Gore pointed out, in Australia, Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull made world news recently by stating that incandescent light bulbs would be phased out by 2010 in favour of more fuel-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. The national policies have not begun to change but I am encouraged that many candidates are beginning to."įor a man who chose a life in politics, it is ironic that the key to Gore's persuasive argument is that we can no longer afford to view global warming as a political issue - rather, it is the "biggest moral challenge facing our global civilization". When there is urgency it can reach a tipping point.
The political system is non-linear like the government. Since the making of An Inconvenient Truth have things become any better? "There is now some movement and a significant change in public attitude," Gore said. The impressive boardroom of Dexia's Salle du Conseil with Gore at the head of the table seemed more like a war council than a press conference, but in this case, the war was an environmental one. The ex-Vice-President of the United States under President Clinton made himself available to the press for a 30-minute Q and A before he gave his famous slide presentation at Luxembourg's Place du Theatre. Even amongst such former speakers as Mikhaïl Gorbatchev, Michael Porter and Madeleine Albright, in terms of timing, Gore was a bit of a coup. No sooner had Al Gore picked up his Oscar for the documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, on 25 February, when he showed up in Luxembourg as this year's speaker at the 5 March annual Repères Conference. You have to congratulate Dexia BIL for superb timing.