Gore urges Brown to ‘seize moment'

Eco-warrior Al Gore has exhorted Gordon Brown to seize his “moment in history” by leading the battle against climate change.

The former US vice president insisted the Chancellor - who takes over at No 10 next week - had the skills needed to deliver a successor to the Kyoto Treaty and bring about sustainable economic development.

At a Climate Change Forum in London attended by Mr Brown, business leaders and campaigners, Mr Gore stressed that Churchillian qualities would be required to mobilise the public in the fight against global warming.

He praised Mr Brown as a “man of letters and a man of words”.

“I do believe this moment in history is matched to your skills,” he added.

Watched by Environment Secretary David Miliband, Virgin boss Richard Branson and the Government's climate guru Sir Nicholas Stern, Mr Gore invoked the spirit of Britain's pugnacious wartime leader.

He said it was vital to provide people with constructive solutions and ways of acting rather than indulging in scare tactics.

“When you're faced with danger... the proper response is not to fan the fears and use the fears as a way of herding people in one direction or another, but rather to lead people through the fears.”

He warned that while there was “an initial sense of change” in public attitudes towards the importance of climate change, there was still a way to go before people realised how imperative the situation had become.

Introducing Mr Gore - who has been tipped in some quarters to run for presidency again - earlier, Mr Brown paid tribute to his long-standing commitment to addressing the problem of climate change.

The soon-to-be Premier said his film documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, had spread the message to millions around the world.

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