Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairs the Foreign Relations Committee and said the United States should play a leading role in helping draft a new global treaty on climate change at a conference in Copenhagen later this year. President Bush withdrew the United States from the 1997 Kyoto treaty, which a sought a cap-and-trade system. But President Obama seems more likely to support such an international system.
Gore said beyond what this country does within its own borders, an international approach is imperative to address climate change. "Otherwise it's like a bucket with a hole... The United States is the only nation that can lead the world. And this is the worst challenge the world has ever faced," Gore said.
More and more countries understand the need for action, and there should be a worldwide commitment to reduce emissions and other global warming pollutants, Gore said.
"We have arrived at a moment of decision. Our home -- Earth -- is in danger," Gore said. "What is at risk of being destroyed is not the planet itself, of course, but the conditions that have made it hospitable for human beings."
"The Science is screaming at us," said Kerry, who, like Gore is a former Democratic Presidential candidate. Kerry also has his own tome on the threat of global warming.
"To the naysayers and the deniers out there, let me make it clear the little snow in Washington does nothing to diminish the reality of the crisis that we face," Kerry said.
The two former Presidential candidates ignored usual committee rules on time and for more than an hour with their opening statements and a riffing series of question and answer on what should be done.
The treaties and the cap-and-trade policy will have to follow, Gore said.
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