Rising electricity prices are pushing governments to decarbonise Gore reports more action in the United States and Australia He says he is optimistic about further action in Brazil and China
LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) – (This Sept. 20 story has been refiled to correct a typographical error in the second bullet) The world is at a “positive turning point” in the fight against climate change, as rising oil and gas costs push governments to loosen up faster, former US Vice President and Generation Investment Management co-founder Al Gore told Reuters. He pointed to the Lower Inflation Act signed into law in August, a $430 billion bill billed as the largest climate package in US history, as well as Australia’s commitment earlier this month to cut carbon emissions by 43% by 2030 and zero carbon emissions by 2050. Read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Gore said he also expects Brazil to change its climate policy after upcoming elections and China to restore dialogue with US President Joe Biden at November’s G20 summit in Indonesia. He added that he was concerned, however, about moves by some countries to increase fossil fuel production in the face of the war in Ukraine, which Russia calls a “special military operation”, which has sent oil and gas prices skyrocketing. “There is no such thing as a clean fossil fuel, just like there is no such thing as a healthy cigarette,” Gore said. “We don’t want to see investment in fossil fuel infrastructure of the kind that A/ won’t alleviate the short-term problem and B/ will guarantee higher levels of emissions for decades to come.” “There are signs absolutely everywhere around the world” that the pace of change is accelerating, he noted, adding that the need for action is also driven by worsening weather patterns. “Mother Nature has joined the climate crisis debate,” Gore said, citing heatwaves in China, floods in Pakistan and drought in Europe. Gore, US vice president from 1993 to 2001, became known for his advocacy of climate change with the 2006 Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” and its 2017 sequel, arguing that the fight against climate change is a moral struggle. Co-awardee of the Nobel Peace Prize for his climate campaign, he is chairman of Generation Investment Management, a London-based firm focused on sustainable investments in public and private markets and research. Among the steps being taken to accelerate the energy transition, some governments have opted to replace existing fossil fuel plants with decades of life left as renewable electricity becomes cheaper, he said, while others are trying to ban cars and trucks powered by fossil fuels. “At a time when technology (…) provides three times as many jobs per dollar invested as investment in fossil fuels, then all of this to me is a very positive, tangible turning point.” In Generation’s latest annual sustainability trends report, released Wednesday, the company said annual investments in the clean economy were set to exceed $1 trillion in the coming years. While this still fell short of the levels needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average, he added that it was increasing “at a rapid clip”. ($1 = 1.0048 euros) Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Report by Juliette Portala, edited by Simon Jessop, William Maclean Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
