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SYDNEY Former US Vice President Al Gore on Wednesday voiced his support for legislation proposed by Australia’s prime minister to slash carbon emissions ahead of a major international climate change conference later this year.
Gore, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming, and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd met in Sydney to discuss Australia’s progress ahead of December’s meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, where the United Nations will try to conclude a new worldwide climate deal.
“This is going to be a very rough and bumpy road,” Rudd said. “Negotiators worldwide are going to need fresh political momentum, a fresh mandate in order to land an outcome in Copenhagen.”
Rudd wants Australian lawmakers to pass a carbon reduction scheme before the Copenhagen conference. The opposition wants to wait until after the summit. The Senate will vote on Rudd’s proposal in August.
Earlier Monday, Gore told Australia Broadcasting Corp. radio that it would help global negotiations if both the US and Australia go to Copenhagen with carbon pollution reduction laws already in place.
“I choose to be optimistic about the possibility of a successful outcome at Copenhagen,” Gore told reporters. “And I hope that the other leaders around the world will take up with Prime Minister Rudd on his suggestions that heads of state meet personally and really grapple with a solution to the political impasse globally.”
Australia, the world’s driest inhabited continent, is expected to be the developed country hardest hit by the effects of global warming. – AP
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