Gore calls for CO2 tax

BBC
Friday, July 18, 2008

The Nobel laureate and former US vice- president, Al Gore, has urged Americans to abandon electricity generated by fossil fuels within a decade.

Mr Gore compared the scale of the challenge to that of putting a man on the moon in the 1960s.

He said it did not make sense that the US was borrowing money from China to burn oil from the Middle East which then contributed to climate change.

Critics say weaning the US off fossil fuels is not possible within a decade.

Mr Gore, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his work on climate change, insists his goal is achievable and affordable.

"The answer is to end our reliance on carbon-based fuels," he said in a speech in Washington.

"When you connect the dots, it turns out that the real solutions to the climate crisis are the very same measures needed to renew our economy and escape the trap of ever-rising energy prices."

To secure this green revolution, Mr Gore said the single most important policy change would be to "tax what we burn - not what we earn".

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