Former US Vice President Al Gore at the UN World Climate Conference

Bonn · The former US Vice President, Democrat and Peace Nobel Prize winner Al Gore took part in the world climate summit on Friday. He was welcomed like a Popstar.

The former US Vice President, Democrat and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore was welcomed at the world climate conference like a popstar. During the afternoon the entrepreneur and climate activist visited the Indonesian Pavillon where the „Climate Reality Project“ as part of his campaign to educate business leaders and which is supposed to inspire particularly young decision makers to protect the climate.

So many young conference participants were queuing outside and trying to get a space inside the event room, that it appeared as if climate change was physically tangible - it was so stuffy. Gore, who since his retirement from politics after an election defeat is campaigning tirelessly to point out the consequences of global warming, thanked the crowd for the „authentic experience“ and took off his jacket.

The USA as well as Indonesia are among the main causers of climate change and particularly exposed to the consequences, the 69-year-old warned. Gore did thus not reject the prolonged usage of nuclear power rigorously. Its risks seem acceptable to him, with improved technology. Mainly the high costs have pushed nuclear power off the market and made the construction of new nuclear plants unlikely, Gore thinks. But it will be much more expensive to count on coal as an energy source.

The subsequent costs will be enormous in regard to the climate aspects. „Just imagine how much it will costs when New York and Jakarta will be swallowed by the ocean“, Gore said. During the evening the popular American presented the „Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power“, his second film about climate change, together with State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth.

Directors Bonni Cohen and John Shenk documented in disturbing images how the consequences of the climate change already affected our planet. And they followed Gore’s mission to put a halt to this disaster. But since the glimpse of hope after the Paris Agreement, Gore sees humanity falling back into its old action patterns. The construction of many coal-fired power plants in India was not avoided, because international financial support for alternative projects was lacking.

„Solar energy, wind power and advanced batteries“ - these are the key words for Al Gore in a mission to advertise a global change in energy politics. He states these facts, waves into everyone’s smartphones being held high in the air and hurries to his next appointment. At the climate conference in Paris 2015, Gore took over a major role as mediator in a new climate treaty. Which meetings he also plans to take part in while he is in Bonn and how long he is staying, remained unclear. Original text: Martin Wein Translation: Mareike Graepel

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