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Gore challenges US to 100% renewable energy

Former US vice president Al Gore has challenged the American public to produce all of its electricity from renewable sources within ten years.

In a speech in Washington DC, the Nobel Laureate said greater use of renewable and carbon-free sources would help to solve the "present danger" of the problems of energy supply, climate change and economic downturn in the US.

He warned that the climate crisis is getting "a lot worse much more quickly than predicted"; the economy is in "terrible shape"; and fuel prices are increasing "dramatically".

"When we look at all three of these seemingly intractable challenges at the same time, we can see the common thread running through them, deeply ironic in its simplicity: our dangerous over-reliance on carbon-based fuels is at the core of all three of these challenges - the economic, environmental and national security crises," Mr Gore said.

Mr Gore claimed that solar power could provide all the electricity America uses and that "enough wind power blows through the Midwest corridor every day to also meet 100 per cent of US electricity demand".

He admitted that "many obstacles" need to be overcome to meet the ten-year challenge, including improving the US national grid and ensuring jobs are available for "those who have toiled in dangerous conditions to bring us our present energy supply".